Agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have seized a commercial bus carrying over N3 million in counterfeit currency.
The illicit funds belonged to three individuals: an eight-month pregnant woman named Favour Peter, along with Esther Adukwu and Ochigbo Michael, all of whom were apprehended at Jabi Park in Abuja.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, and shared on its website on Sunday, April 14.
The statement disclosed: “National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operatives intercepted a commercial bus carrying N3.2 million in counterfeit currency.
The cash belonged to three individuals: Favour Peter, a 24-year-old who is eight months pregnant; Esther Adukwu, 27; and 39-year-old Ochigbo Michael.
They were apprehended at Jabi Park, Abuja, during a follow-up operation on Tuesday, April 9, subsequent to the discovery of the fake notes in Lokoja, Kogi State.
Additionally, NDLEA officers, working with the Nigerian Navy Ship Lugard Base in Lokoja, arrested 37-year-old Aliyu Lawal on the Lokoja-Abuja Road on Monday, April 8.
They confiscated 620 blocks of cannabis weighing 310kg. Another seizure occurred along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja Expressway, where NDLEA operatives took possession of 10 sacks of the same substance, totaling 98kg, from 44-year-old Jama Obodo in a commercial bus traveling from Ilesha, Osun State, to Taraba State on Wednesday, April 10.”
In Cross River State, Mrs. Theodora Ita, a 40-year-old widow and mother of two, was arrested on Monday, April 8, at Bassey Edom, Calabar, by NDLEA operatives for the production and sale of a lethal new psychoactive substance known locally as ‘Combine.’ This substance is a concoction of various cannabis strains and opioids steeped in raw gin.
At the time of her arrest, authorities recovered 18 liters of this hazardous substance stored in old paint drums. Mrs. Ita admitted to commencing the illegal drug production and distribution in October 2023.
Additionally, on Tuesday, April 9, another individual, Godwin Okon Samuel, aged 48, was detained at the Essit Ebum area of Calabar with 39.4kg of cannabis sativa.
