A 42-year-old man, Ahmad Mohammed has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for taking thousands of concealed opioid pills to insurgents’ enclave in the Banki area of Borno State.
Mohammed is among 24 suspected drug traffickers and dealers arrested in major interdiction operations by the NDLEA operatives last week.
Others include a six-month-pregnant lady and mother of three children who was nabbed among three other women.
The anti-narcotic agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said the operations led to the seizure of over 7,609 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs in eight states.
Mohammed is accused of being a supplier of illicit drugs to insurgents in Banki, a border region between Nigeria and Cameroon.
He was arrested by NDLEA operatives on Friday 9th February at Bama check point.
When his luggage was searched 20,000 capsules of tramadol were recovered from him while on his way to deliver the opioid consignment in the border town.
The bulk of the seizures was made in Nasarawa State where operatives acting on credible intelligence on Sunday 4th February intercepted a truck marked Lagos JJJ 64 YC.
The truck was conveying 367 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 4,037 kilograms from Akure, Ondo State to be delivered at the Shabu area of Lafia, the state capital.
Three suspects including Shuaibu Yahaya Liman, 35; Monday Audu, 33, and Linus Samuel, 42 were arrested in connection with the seizure.
The following day Monday 5th February, operatives in Abuja, FCT arrested the duo of 23-year-old Jibrin Shuaibu, and Prosper Innih, 17, with 169 bags and 80 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa weighing 1,961.5kgs concealed in a truck with registration number Ogun WDE 557 XC.
The truck was intercepted during a stop and search operation along Abaji – Abuja highway on their way from Uzeba to Dei-Dei, FCT.
In another operation by NDLEA operatives in Abuja on Tuesday 6th February, a 27-year-old suspect, Abdulhameed Dauda was arrested with 89kgs of the same psychoactive substance loaded into his truck in Owo, Ondo State to be delivered at Gwagwalada in FCT.
On the same day, operatives also intercepted another driver, Hassan Ade, 30 while transporting 696.5kgs of the same substance loaded in Idoani, Ondo State to be delivered at Gwagwalada and Dei-Dei in FCT.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of a mother of three children, Mrs. Joy Chukwuka, 42, linked with the consignment.
Also in Ondo State, apart from the seizure of 633.5kgs of cannabis at Eleyere, Ogbese in Akure North LGA, NDLEA operatives also recovered 59 jumbo bags of same substance loaded in a truck marked GAD 287 XA heading to Northern part of the country.
Detergents were sprayed on the cannabis bags ostensibly to suppress the odour of the psychoactive weed, while 192 packs of table water were loaded on top to conceal the illicit consignment.
Not less than 187kgs of same substance were seized by operatives at Sapele road, Benin, Edo state while in Kano, NDLEA officers on Monday 5th February arrested 58-year-old Bashir Attahir in Bachirawa area of the state with 216,000 pills of tramadol 250mg.
Another suspect, Ejike Moses Nmenme, 47, was nabbed the following day Tuesday 6th Feb with 25,190 capsules of tramadol and different quantities of rohypnol and codeine syrup along Emir Road, Sabon Gari area of the city.
Similarly, the duo of Yusuf Abdullahi Musa, 35, and Yusuf Musa, 28, were nabbed at Gadar Tamburawa, with 1,000 ampoules of tramadol injection on
Thursday 8th February.
In the same vein, a six-month pregnant woman, Amarachi Akaolisa, 25, and another lady, Ifeoma Iheanyi, 21, were among six suspects arrested for dealing in illicit substances in Oraifite and Umuni-Evili, Aguleri, Anambra State.
Others include Okwuchukwu Chukwuka; Onyedika Ngwu; Ekene Hyginus and Nzomiwu Ikechukwu.
Items recovered from them include over 6 kilograms of cannabis, tramadol, diazepam and codeine syrup in raids conducted NDLEA operatives between Tuesday 6th and Thursday 8th Feb in parts of the state.
In Lagos, two ladies, Boluwatife Adebayo and Omolade Fola Adebayo were among suspects arrested during raids in parts of the state on Saturday 10th February.
While Ogah Sunday Adole and Boluwatife Adebayo were arrested at the Agidingbi area of Ikeja, in connection with 220grams of cannabis, 10.6 litres of codeine syrup, and other psychotropic substances.
Omolade Fola Adebayo was nabbed at Ijesha area with various quantities of cannabis, codeine syrup, rohypnol and molly.
The Commands across the country balanced their drug supply reduction operations with War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaigns to schools, markets, worship centres and communities.
These include WADA sensitisation lecture on Drug Use and Mental Health for students and staff of Oba Akinbiyi High School, Mokola, Ibadan, Oyo State; Owode Senior Secondary School, Owode Yewa, Ogun State and Federal Science and Technical College, Awka, Anambra State.
Others include Yusad Secondary School, Gashua, Yobe State and African Church Grammar School, Ilesa, Osun State.
WADA advocacy visit was paid during the week to HRM Ochi’Idoma, Agaba Idu, Dr. Elaigwu Odogbo Obagaji John at his palace in Otukpo, Benue State and the Emir of Rano, HRH Amb. Muhammed Kabiru Inuwa in Kano state.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the efforts of the Nasarawa, FCT, Ondo, Kano, Borno, Edo, Anambra and Lagos Commands of the Agency for jobs well done in the past week.
Marwa urged them and their compatriots across the country to always strive to surpass past feats in their drug supply and drug demand reduction efforts.
