NDLEA seizes 14.4 million pills of Opioids, busts drug cartel in Lagos

The National Drug Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has seized over 14 million pills of Tramadol and bottles of codeine syrup with a street value of more than 13 billion naira (N13,000,000,000) in a series of raids against three drug cartels in Lagos.

According to NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, the operations were based on intelligence reports and targeted the drug warehouses in Amuwo Odofin, Idumota, and the SAHCO shed at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

He said, “The first operation took place on Sunday, October 29th, at House 8/10 Hon. Wahuha Avenue, Divine Estate, Ago Palace area of Amuwo Odofin, where we recovered 490,000 pills of tramadol and 81,519 bottles of codeine syrup measuring 4,510, 000 ml.

“The second operation was on Tuesday, October 31st, at a secret warehouse owned by a billionaire Idumota trader, Nwaoha Anayo, located at Onitire, Aguda area of Surulere, where we seized 12, 700, 000 pills of tramadol.

“The third operation involved the arrest of six members of a syndicate who used their official cover to smuggle illicit drugs through the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) warehouse at the Lagos airport. We confiscated 1,210, 000 pills of tramadol from them after a thorough investigation that lasted for weeks.

“The six suspects in our custody are: Oladele Sanya-Olu; Lawal Itunu Temitope; Sanamo Alla Daniel; Udeh Felix Monday; Musa Mutalib; and Unege Evans Icibor, while three others, Sarki Mubarak Salami; Abdullahi Aliyu (aka Aboki); and Monday Anwal, are still at large and wanted by NDLEA.

Babafemi also said that “At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja, NDLEA operatives intercepted a businessman, 50-year-old Nwokolo Ifeanyi Anthony, who was on his way to Amsterdam, Netherlands, via Paris, France, on Air France flight AF 878 on Sunday, October 29th. He tested positive for drug ingestion during a body scan at the boarding gate.

“The suspect, who travelled from Lagos to board the flight, was kept under observation for some days, during which he excreted 86 pellets of heroin weighing 1.330 kilogrammes.

“Moreover, NDLEA operatives attached to courier firms intercepted 22 parcels of cocaine hidden in the walls of a carton containing sewn local fabrics, popularly called Aso Oke, destined for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, October 30th.

“Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives have arrested three blind men who were part of a drug ring operating between Lagos and Kano, while another blind member of the group is on the run.

“The group was exposed after the arrest of a blind suspect, Adamu Hassan, 40, along the Gwagwalada motorway in Abuja with 12 kg of skunk on his way from Lagos to Kano on Saturday, October 28th.

“However, investigations revealed that he was unaware of the content of the bag given to him to deliver in Kano.

“Further investigations led to the arrest of the leader of the group, Bello Abubakar, 45, who is also blind.

“Bello, who is married with five children, said he has been living in Lagos for 30 years but started the drug business five years ago.

“Another suspect, Muktar Abubakar, 59, who is also blind, has been living in Lagos for 40 years and is married to three wives with 14 children.

“Both Muktar Abubakar and Bello Abubakar are the owners of the business, while the third suspect, Akilu Amadu, 25, also blind, also contributes money to the trade and was the one who gave the bag to Adamu at the motor park in Lagos to deliver in Kano.

The NDLEA has also arrested a blind suspect who was supposed to receive the drug consignment in Kano, but Mallam Aminu, another blind member of the group, is still on the run.

In other operations, NDLEA operatives in Osun raided a cannabis farm of 6.01 hectares in Obada sawmill forest in Owena-Ijesa, Oriade LGA, on Saturday, November 4. They arrested a suspect, Monday Sylvester, 37, destroyed the farm, and seized 489.8 kg of processed cannabis.

In Edo, NDLEA operatives stormed a trans-loading point in Avbiosi Forest, Owan West LGA, on Monday, October 30th, and seized 603 kilogrammes of cannabis.

In Ogun, NDLEA operatives recovered a Toyota Sienna bus with 460 kg of cannabis from a ditch at Ajebo Area, along the Lagos-Ibadan motorway, on Friday, November 3. In Lagos, NDLEA operatives seized 116.5 kg of cannabis belonging to a fugitive suspect in the Olagunju, Mushin area.

The NDLEA also continued its anti-drug abuse and WADA campaigns across the country. Some of the awareness lectures in the past week were organized by:

Zone N command of NDLEA, in collaboration with the Akwa Ibom state command for secondary school principals in the state

Kano state command at Government Science and Technical College, Wudil; Gombe state command for students of Haruna Rasheed College of Health Sciences, Dukku

Anambra state command, for students of Community Secondary School, Ezi-Awka; Zone I command, in collaboration with Osun command of the Agency and the State Ministry of Education for over 320 secondary school principals in the state.

Oyo State Command at Anglican Grammar School, Starlight, Ogbomoso, with 2,032 students in attendance, and Ogun State Command for students and staff of Gateway Junior Secondary School, Abeokuta.

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), praised the NDLEA officers and men of the NAIA, MMIA, Lagos, Osun, Edo, and FCT Commands, as well as those of DOGI, for their achievements in the past week. He urged them and their colleagues across the country to keep up the fight against drug cartels.