NDLEA Intercepts Qatar-Bound Illicit Drugs Concealed In African Salad, Dried Vegetables

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has detained Chidinma Agbazue, a 35-year-old woman, after she was caught attempting to export 20 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 10.7 kilogrammes concealed in African salad popularly called Abacha and dried vegetables to Doha, Qatar through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the anti-narcotics agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA officers at the Lagos airport, working in collaboration with men from the Department of State Security (DSS), intercepted Chidinma, an outbound passenger from Lagos to Doha on Qatar Airways, while clearing passengers at the screening point of terminal 11 of the MMIA.

He stated that a preliminary investigation revealed that Chidinma was based in Qatar but returned to Nigeria for the Christmas holidays last December. She stated that prior to her return to Doha, she stayed at the Club Dice Hotel in Lagos’ Ikotun area, where the consignment was handed over to her for trafficking to the Arab country.

Babafemi also stated that two suspects, Monday Okeke and Chigozie Emeka, were apprehended by NDLEA operatives last Tuesday in Lagos’ Oniwaya, Yaba, and Agege areas, where they recovered 842,560 opioid pills, primarily tramadol, as well as 15 litres of codeine syrup and 596 grammes of Molly.

He stated that Okeke’s attempt to bribe NDLEA officers with N5 million in cash was unsuccessful, and that the money was documented as part of exhibits used to prosecute the suspects in court.

In Bayelsa State, three suspects: Ebuka Eze, 31; Ugochukwu Okoro, 44; and Kingsley Uzim, 27, attempted to smuggle opioids including codeine, molly, tramadol, and diazepam weighing a total of 73.425 kilogrammes to the creeks in the state’s Southern Ijaw area. The operation was foiled last Wednesday by NDLEA operatives at Swali jetty, Yenagoa, where Ebuka and Ugochukwu were arrested, while Uzim was apprehended at Amasoma in a follow-up operation.

He revealed that the drugs were hidden in jumbo sacks and delivered to the jetty in a tricycle.

Two suspects, Eniola Muyideen and Bankole Shuaib, were also arrested with 137 blocks of cannabis weighing 71 kilogrammes last Friday during a raid in Orile Imo, Ogun state.

NDLEA agents in Taraba State discovered 39,980 tramadol pills from a suspect, Abubakar Mohammed, 33, in Lankaviri village, and another suspect, Apaji Vincent, 29, who was arrested in Wukari last Thursday with 131 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa.

Nwachukwu Chinedu, 28, was arrested by NDLEA officers in Akara Ahuba, Isikwuato local government area, Abia state, recently. 46.65 kilogrammes of cannabis, various amounts of tramadol, methamphetamine, and rohypnol, as well as N71,500 in cash, were seized from him.

In Ondo State, at least 127.5 kilogrammes of cannabis were discovered in a Volkswagen Vento saloon car labelled NTT 215 AA along Isua/Kabba road, Idoani area of Ose local government area, while a 30-year-old female suspect, Chinasa Christopher, was arrested with 400 bottles of codeine syrup in Kano’s Sabon Gari area. Bakura Goni, the owner of a consignment of illicit drugs intercepted along the Zaria-Kano road, was arrested at Mile 2 Market in Lagos last Tuesday in a follow-up operation and flown to Kano to face charges. The consignment of cannabis and tramadol weighing 73.8 kilogrammes was previously seized in a truck travelling from Lagos to Kano.

In Edo State, 278 kilogrammes of cannabis bound for Idoani in Ondo State were discovered during a raid at Oloma-Okpe forest, Akoko-Edo local government area, while 3,065.255 kilogrammes of the same psychoactive substance were destroyed on two farms at Amahor waterside forest in the Igueben area of the state, where three suspects, James Thankgod, Wisdom James, and Akpa Festus, were arrested last Thursday.

Babafemi stated that NDLEA commands across the country have increased their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy lectures in the last week.

Meanwhile, while commending the officers and men of the MMIA’s Lagos, Edo, Ogun, Kano, Abia, Bayelsa, Ondo, and Taraba commands for their balanced efforts in the past week, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd), Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, praised their counterparts across the country for intensifying their WADA advocacy lectures.