The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a drug baron, Charles Ezeh, in Lagos after the recovery of a consignment of methamphetamine. The illicit drug, weighing 30.10kg and worth N567m, was concealed in powdered custard containers as part of a consolidated cargo going to London, United Kingdom. The discovery was made at the export shed of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos.
The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that the interception was followed by a series of follow-up operations that led to the arrest of a freight agent, Nwobodo Chidiebere and a female suspect, Chioma Akuta, before ultimately nabbing Ezeh at Sotel Suites, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.
Babafemi said that Charles Ezeh claimed to be a businessman dealing in articles in Onitsha, Anambra State. However, investigations revealed he lived with his wife and children in London until December 10, 2022, when he fled to Nigeria after his involvement in a drug-related offence in the UK.
Furthermore, NDLEA operatives in Adamawa on May 15 arrested a notorious drug dealer, Ikechukwu Uzoma, in the Mubi area of the state, who was found in possession of 1kg of skunk. The suspect had previously been arrested in the past and convicted for the same offence on two different occasions.
Babafemi also revealed that a trans-border trafficker, Faisal Mohammed, was arrested in Mubi on May 17, following the interception of a truck from Onitsha, Anambra State. The truck held a total of 2,376 sachets of tramadol amounting to 23,760 pills that were concealed in three blue rubber Jerrycans hidden underneath the body part of the trailer. The suspect admitted that the opioid was to be taken to Cameroon.
Other arrests include two suspects, Osas Susan and Thomas Biodun, at Igbon, Gambari in the Ogbomoso North Local Government Area in Oyo State with 2.13kg cannabis, Idris Muhammed with 4,500 pills of tramadol along Lagos-Ibadan expressway, and Bulus Mikah with over 5kg opioids including tramadol, diazepam, rohypnol and exol-5 in Kaduna state.
In addition, while 552kg cannabis was recovered from a warehouse in a bush in Uhodoua forest, the Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo State, 10 suspects were apprehended with a total of 5.587kg cannabis sativa, 144.4grams of methamphetamine, and 48,260 capsules of tramadol. The NDLEA also seized 628 bottles of new psychoactive substance, skuchies and arrested four suspected drug dealers in Idanre, while 293 blocks of cannabis weighing 211.6kg were found on a suspect, Kayode Hakeem, at Hawan Dawaki, Kano.
The NDLEA has continued to work to rid Nigeria of drug abuse and its associated activities, and urges members of the public to provide them with credible information that could lead to the apprehension of drug traffickers and drug lords across the country.
