As agency intercepts woman with 266 AK-47 rounds along Abuja–Kaduna Expressway, seizes large drug consignments in nationwide operations
By Adebola Muili
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Europe-based Nigerian businessmen who attempted to smuggle 200 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.46 kilogrammes to Paris, France, after ingesting the illicit substance.
The suspects, Aliocus Godian Odife and Sam Blackborn, were arrested on Wednesday, October 28, during the outward clearance of Air France flight AF 832 from Abuja to Paris at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
This was disclosed in a statement made available to journalists on Sunday by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, who detailed the arrests and seizures recorded by the agency across several states in the past week.
According to the statement, Odife, who claimed to live in France where he works in a factory, had arrived in Nigeria on October 21 for a short holiday but was intercepted while attempting to return to Europe.
A body scan conducted on him indicated the presence of foreign objects in his stomach, prompting further investigation during which he admitted to ingesting 110 pellets of cocaine.
He was subsequently placed under observation and excreted all 110 wraps, which tested positive for cocaine and weighed 1.901 kilogrammes.
His co-traveller, Blackborn, was also arrested at the departure hall after a body scan confirmed the presence of foreign objects in his stomach. He admitted to swallowing 90 pellets of cocaine, which he subsequently excreted under observation.
The recovered substance weighed 1.559 kilogrammes, bringing the total quantity excreted by the two suspects to 200 wraps weighing 3.460 kilogrammes.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested a woman, Aisha Isah, with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition along the Abuja–Kaduna Expressway.
Isah was intercepted at the tollgate during a patrol by operatives of the agency.
Similarly, a 68-year-old man, Ifeanyi Egwolonwu, was arrested at Gwargwaje, Zaria, along the Zaria–Kano Expressway, with 2,770 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 100 ampoules of diazepam injection, 11,000 tablets of diazepam and 4,500 tablets of Exol-5.
In Kaduna State, another raid at Tashan Banke led to the arrest of seven suspects, including Faisal Adamu, and the recovery of 178.85 kilogrammes of cannabis, alongside quantities of diazepam, tramadol, Exol-5 and pregabalin.
In Lagos, operatives acting on intelligence about the movement of skunk from the Island to the Mainland intercepted a white Volkswagen LT 28 bus along Kudirat Abiola Way, Ikeja, on Sunday, October 25, recovering 537 kilogrammes of the substance.
Another team intercepted a brown J5 bus along the Gbagada–Oshodi Expressway on the same day, seizing an additional 439 kilogrammes of skunk.
In Oyo State, two suspects, Oguntona Nasiru, 46, and Soji Balogun, 47, were arrested on Thursday, October 29, while allegedly loading 554 kilogrammes of skunk into a Volvo truck along Idere Road, Igboora.
The operation was a follow-up to an earlier raid targeting a suspected drug dealer identified as Omo Oba, who escaped arrest on October 25 when operatives seized 309.5 kilogrammes of cannabis popularly known as Ghanaian Loud, linked to him.
In Kano State, operatives raided a location in the Tsamiya area of Gezawa on October 26, recovering 247,500 tablets of diazepam weighing 57.7 kilogrammes and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 weighing 38.7 kilogrammes.
Two days later, another operation in Dorayi led to the arrest of Ziya’ulhaq Abdullahi, 35, and Garba Muhammed, 52, with 19,250 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 13.6 kilogrammes.
In Ondo State, four suspects were arrested during a raid on cannabis farms in Ijare Forest on October 25. Those arrested included Bassey Okon, 24; Abraham Edet, 20; and Oto Udo, 24. Operatives also recovered 16 bags of processed cannabis weighing 180 kilogrammes.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, raided Eko Camp in Ilushi, Esan South East Local Government Area, on October 28, destroying a cannabis plantation measuring 1.646 hectares with an estimated yield of 4,115.53 kilogrammes.
A 50-year-old woman, Christiana Uboi, was arrested at the camp with 301 kilogrammes of processed cannabis, while another 176 kilogrammes was recovered during the operation.
In Sokoto State, operatives of the agency’s Zone 7 Command arrested a 68-year-old man, Ibrahim Ayuba, on Saturday, October 31, with 236.6 kilogrammes of skunk.
Meanwhile, the agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign, organising enlightenment programmes in schools and other institutions across the country, including Obawole Grammar School II, Ojodu, Lagos; Nsukka High School, Enugu State; Government Technical College, Dorayi Babba Rijiyar Zaki, Kano State; and Ajagbe Comprehensive High School, Iperu, Ogun State.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the Abuja airport and the Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Ondo, Oyo and Edo commands for the arrests and seizures.
Marwa said the interception of the two cocaine couriers should serve as a warning to Nigerians who believe that living abroad could provide cover for drug trafficking.
He maintained that officers at the country’s entry and exit points remained vigilant, warning that there was no hiding place for anyone who risked their lives and liberty by ingesting illicit drugs for financial rewards.
He also charged officers and men of the agency to sustain the fight against drug cartels while intensifying drug demand reduction efforts through sensitisation programmes in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
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