The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded major successes in its nationwide operations with the arrest of an ex-convict, an online drug dealer and several other suspects across nine states.
According to a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, the operations were carried out in Jigawa, Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Oyo, the Federal Capital Territory, Enugu and Kwara states.
Babafemi said that in Edo State, operatives raided Arokpa forest in Uzebba town on Tuesday, 13 January, arresting a suspected drug kingpin and seizing 320kg of skunk and cannabis seeds.
In Abuja, a 44-year-old woman was arrested on Friday, 16 January, after intelligence revealed she was producing cannabis oil in her kitchen and selling illicit drugs online. NDLEA officers recovered 2.2kg of skunk and several litres of cannabis oil from her home in the Kaura district.
Another suspect was arrested the same week at his residence in Abacha Estate, Abuja, with quantities of cocaine and skunk.
In Lagos, officers intercepted 118.1kg of skunk from two suspects in Mushin, while a separate operation in Enugu led to the seizure of 116kg of the substance from a warehouse.
Babafemi said two suspects transporting over 410,000 tramadol pills were arrested along the Onitsha–Asaba Expressway in Delta State. Additional seizures included codeine syrup, diazepam tablets, swinol and Molly pills.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested suspects in Ibadan with large quantities of skuchies, skunk and Colorado, a synthetic cannabis variant. A further raid at Agbeni resulted in the recovery of more than 52,000 tramadol and bromazepam tablets from a suspect’s store.
In Kwara State, NDLEA officers raided a house in the Gamo area of Ilorin, seizing 42 bags of skunk weighing 387.40kg.
Babafemi also disclosed that over 157,000 bottles of codeine syrup were uncovered in a container at Apapa Port during a joint examination involving NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
In Jigawa State, an ex-convict was arrested with drugs after attempting to evade arrest by fleeing across rooftops while armed with a machete, during which an NDLEA officer was injured.
He added that the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) awareness campaigns nationwide, engaging students, religious groups and communities as part of efforts to curb substance abuse.
