The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its crackdown on drug trafficking with a series of arrests and seizures across the country, including a significant operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
In the early hours of Saturday, June 14, operatives at the Lagos airport, working in conjunction with Aviation Security of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), apprehended an Italy-bound passenger, Edobor Ambrose Ali, attempting to smuggle a large quantity of tramadol.
Ali, who was on an Air France flight, was found with 14,410 pills of tramadol (225mg and 200mg) concealed within winter jackets inside his luggage. NDLEA said the suspect confessed to being recruited in Italy for an all-expense-paid courier trip to Nigeria with a promise of 2,000 Euros upon successful delivery of the drugs to Milan.
Meanwhile, in another Lagos operation on Thursday, June 12, NDLEA’s Marine Command recovered 14 jumbo sacks of skunk, weighing 560kg, from a wooden boat at Oniru Beach. The cannabis strain was carefully packaged for illegal distribution.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives at the Onne Port intercepted a major shipment of codeine-based syrup worth over N1.1 billion. The seizure was made during a joint examination with Customs and other security agencies. The 157,800 bottles of the banned substance were concealed behind cartons of ceramic sanitary wares in a watch-listed container.
Across other states, the agency recorded several high-profile arrests:
- At Port Harcourt International Airport, 44-year-old businessman Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian was arrested on June 7 for ingesting 53 wraps of cocaine (1.172kg) en route Tehran, Iran, via Doha.
- In Cross River, three suspects were arrested at a warehouse in Obereakai, Odukpani LGA, where 2,687kg of skunk was recovered.
- Along the Bauchi-Jos Road, two men were caught with 287kg of cannabis hidden in a Toyota Camry.
- At the Maiduguri airport, two businessmen were arrested with ecstasy pills and skunk disguised in wraps labelled “Lychee” and “Porro Legal”.
The NDLEA also continued its advocacy campaign under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, holding sensitization lectures in secondary schools across Enugu, Ebonyi, Oyo, and Akwa Ibom states.
Commending the agency’s operatives, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the officers for their vigilance and for maintaining a strategic balance between drug supply reduction and public education efforts.