The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted methamphetamine worth N.5 billion, which was concealed in powdered custard containers, part of a consolidated cargo bound for London, United Kingdom, at the SAHCO export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos.
In a statement posted on its official Twitter page, the NDLEA revealed the drug consignment weighed 30.10 kilograms, with a street value of N567 million, adding that it was detected and seized by operatives at the airport on Tuesday 16 May. The arrest of the drug kingpin behind the shipment, Charles Chinedu Ezeh, was swiftly followed by a series of follow-up operations that led to the arrest of a freight agent, Nwobodo Chidiebere, and a female suspect, Chioma Lucy Akuta.
Ezeh, who claims to be a businessman dealing in articles in Onitsha, Anambra State, fled to Nigeria last December after his involvement in a drug-related offence in the UK. However, investigations reveal that he lived with his wife and children in London until that time. When he returned to Nigeria, he claimed to have been living in hotels since then, but NDLEA operatives were able to locate his mansion in Lekki, where they conducted a search and recovered his travel and property documents, among others.
In related incidents, NDLEA operatives in Adamawa arrested a notorious drug dealer, Prince Ikechukwu Uzoma, in the Mubi area of the state with 1kg of skunk on Monday 15 May. Uzoma had twice been arrested and convicted for the same offence in the past, serving jail terms of six months and two years.
NDLEA operatives also arrested a trans-border trafficker, Faisal Mohammed, in Mubi following the interception of a truck from Onitsha, Anambra State, where three blue rubber Jerrycans containing 2,376 sachets of tramadol comprising 23,760 pills were concealed underneath the body part of the trailer. The suspect admitted that the opioid was to be taken to Cameroon.
In Oyo state, suspects Osas Susan, 35, and Thomas Biodun, 23, were arrested at Igbon, Gambari in Ogbomoso North LGA with 2.13kg cannabis; Idris Muhammed, 55, was nabbed with 4,500 pills of tramadol when a commercial bus conveyance he and other passengers was stopped and searched along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Similarly, Bulus Mikah, 63, was arrested at Kafanchan, Kaduna state, with over 5kg opioids, including tramadol, diazepam, Rohypnol and excel-5. Meanwhile, a total of 965kg cannabis was seized from Shehu Muhammadu Dandare, 25, at Maraban Jos, Igabi local government area of the state.
When NDLEA operatives stormed and destroyed a 1.5-hectare cannabis farm in Uhodoua forest, Esan South East LGA, Edo state, they recovered 552kg of cannabis from a warehouse in a bush. Ten suspects were also arrested with a total of 5.587kg cannabis sativa, 144.4 grams of methamphetamine, and 48,260 capsules of tramadol in different parts of Onitsha, Anambra state, on Friday, 19 May.
In Kwara, two suspects, Mohammed Isa, 47, and Mohammed Haman, 36, were arrested along Ilorin/Lagos road while on their way to Maiduguri, Borno state, with 6kg cannabis, 50 grams of methamphetamine, and 20 pieces of military camouflage caps and uniforms. Operatives in Jigawa state also nabbed one Ibrahim Abdullahi, 53, with 120kg of cannabis at Sara town in Gwaram LGA.
The NDLEA chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), commended the officers and men of the MMIA Command for their professionalism and speedy operation that led to the arrest of the drug kingpin, Charles Chinedu Charles. He urged them and their colleagues in Adamawa, Oyo, Kaduna, Edo, Kwara, Jigawa, Ondo, and Kano to continue ramping up their operations.
