19-year-old Europe-bound student arrested with Meth consignment at Abuja Airport
By Emma Ogbuehi
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA Abuja, have arrested a 19-year-old student, Benjamin Nnamani Daberechi, for attempting to export 7.2 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in a sack crayfish to Europe where he was going for undergraduate studies.
The teenage suspect was intercepted on Wednesday, July 12, during an outward clearance of passengers on Turkish Airlines flight TK 0624. While being interviewed by operatives, Daberechi claimed he was a student on his way to Cyprus for studies, but upon a thorough search of his luggage, he was found in possession of 7.2kg of whitish substance neatly concealed inside a sack of crayfish. A field test of the substance however proved positive to Methamphetamine.
In the same vein, operatives of the Tincan Port Command of the Agency on Tuesday, July 11, intercepted 116.5kg consignment of Colorado, a strong strain of cannabis concealed in bags hidden in a heap of used vehicles parts on the floor of a container marked FCIU 8459700, bearing three units of used vehicles imported from Toronto, Canada.
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Based on intelligence, the Agency had requested for a 100 percent examination of the container which arrived the TICT terminal of the port on 14th June. A joint examination with the Nigeria Customs, DSS and other stakeholders on Tuesday 11th July however led to the discovery of 233 parcels of the illicit substance stashed inside travelling bags on the floor of the container, covered with used vehicles spare parts.
Also attempts to export various quantities of illicit substances through courier companies were equally thwarted by NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigations, DOGI in Lagos. While 336 grams of skunk stuffed inside computer hard drives going to Dubai, UAE, were seized at a courier firm, a suspect, Ibrahim Analu, 28, was arrested at Iddo motor park, Lagos while attempting to send 151,700 pills of opioids to Kaduna. A total of 4.830kg skunk was also discovered at another courier firm in a shipment from Douala, Cameroon passing through Nigeria to Oman. The drug was concealed in 10 of 12 cans of palm fruits paste, locally called Banga, packed in a carton.
Meanwhile, a Lekki Lagos based female lawyer, Ebikpolade Helen, who specialises in production and distribution of skuchies, a mixture of cannabis, opioids and black currant has been arrested in a follow up operation in Awka, Anambra state following an earlier seizure of 5kg cannabis and 12 bottles of prepared skuchies in her apartment at Lekki.
While Abubakar Shuaibu was arrested on Thursday 13th July at Cappa, Mushin/Oshodi road with 86 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup weighing 8.6 litres in his Toyota bus marked FFA 241YB, two other suspects: Razak Ogunbo and Adeola Idowu were nabbed Tuesday 11th July at Ikorodu with 51 litres of skuchies. This is even as 372kg cannabis sativa and 48 bottles of skuchies measuring 48 litres were recovered from the home of a fleeing drug dealer at Akala, Mushin Lagos on Wednesday 12th July.
In Ondo state, operatives stormed a building at Ehin-Ala, Akure South LGA where they arrested one Abubakar Zayanu Gyambar, 28, with 162 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 1,944 kilograms, while another suspect, Henry Wilson, 50, was nabbed at Ogume town, Ndokwa West LGA, Delta State with same substance weighing 216.5kg.
A total of 45.41kg cannabis was recovered from Adam Hassan, 27, along Inga wa-Mani – Mashi road, Katsina enroute Niger Republic, while 70kg of same substance was seized from Mamman Nur Shettima on Saturday 15th July along Kano – Nguru road, Yobe state. In Kano, a suspect, Abdulhamid Lawan Bayaro, 48, was on Friday 14th July nabbed at Dan Agundi area, Kano with 114 blocks of cannabis, weighing 71.7kg, just as operatives recovered 50,000 pills of Tamol, a brand of Tramadol at Kofar Waika area of the state.
While a total of 912,600 pills of pharmaceutical opioids including tramadol were recovered from two commercial vehicles; one coming from Lagos to Kano, the other was intercepted along Abuja-Jere-Kaduna expressway, with a suspect, Sahabi Lawal, 25, arrested. In Borno state, 32-year-old Umar Tijjani Mustapha was arrested at Gangamari, MMC, with 55.25kg skunk on Thursday 13th July.
Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the tenacity of the officers and men of NAIA, Tincan, Lagos, Ondo, Katsina, Yobe, Delta, Kano, Kaduna and Borno Commands as well as those of DOGI. He charged them and their compatriots across the country to remain vigilant.
