NDLEA, in a sweeping operation, nabs other suspects in Delta, Kano, Yobe over 6,586kg narcotics.
By Emma Ogbuehi
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA have arrested a 70-year-old woman, Mrs. Beatrice Aigbedion alongside others, in Edo over 5,000 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs seized by the agency across the state.
Aigbedion was picked on Wednesday, November 24.
In a follow-up operation at the weekend, the agency seized 12,385 kilograms of Loud Cannabis, a strong variant of the illicit weed imported from a neighbouring country and smuggled into Lagos through the waterways.
Acting on credible intelligence that 12, 385 pellets of Loud Cannabis were brought in from the West African country through the ocean and ferried with boats to the Eko Atlantic Beach, Victoria Island from where they would be distributed to drug hotspots such as Island, Peti Alagba and others across Lagos and other states, over 50 narcotic officers stormed the beach on Saturday, November 27, 2021, recovered the consignments along with two long trucks, a Toyota Sienna bus and arrested three suspects.
Those arrested include: Abdulkadri Zakari, 24; Ka’abu Sausu, 45 and Lawrence Adie, 27.
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Those arrested in Edo followed days of surveillance by NDLEA, during which the operatives stormed a warehouse at Uhiere, Ovia North East Local Government Area of the state, where they recovered a total of 4,261.5kg of cannabis sativa and a suspect, Ikong Stanley, arrested. The previous day Tuesday November 23, 1,240kg was equally seized at a warehouse in Uzebba, Owan West LGA of the state.
At the point of her arrest in Irrua, Mrs. Aigbedion was caught with different quantities of Codeine cough syrup, Swinol and Rohypnol while another dealer, Joseph Onyemaechi, 50, was also nabbed at Ikpoba Okha, Upper Sakponba- Benin City, on Friday with different types of psychotropic substances weighing 2.055kg.
Similarly, Gabriel Akioya and Isa Salihu were arrested on Thursday, November 25, at Irrua, Esan Central LGA with various quantities of Codeine, Tramadol, Swinol and Rohypnol.
In Delta state, operatives raided Hampton Towers and Spa Hotel, Okpanam road, Asaba where Dobedient Etumudor and Thompson Chukwuemeka were arrested with different quantities of psychoactive substances, while another dealer, Emeka Ben was nabbed with 4.7 grams of Methamphetamine along Asaba – Ibusa road.
Other suspects arrested the same day in the state for dealing in Meth, Cannabis, Cocaine, and Heroin include Ifeanyi Odibe, Uche Onwurah, and Justice Obika.
In Kano, a drug dealer, Alhaji Bukar Malan Abdu, was arrested and 143 kilograms of cannabis recovered from him while 466kg of same drug was seized in the home of one Bashir Shuaibu, an indigene of Edo State but resident in Kano, who deals in Cannabis sativa.
Same Thursday, November 25, a drug dealer in Maiduguri, Borno state, Chima Obi was arrested in a follow up operation following the seizure of his drug consignment, 73.2kg codeine, at an NDLEA checkpoint in Postiskum, Yobe state same day.
In his reaction to the arrests and huge seizures in Lagos, Edo, Delta, Kano and Yobe states, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the officers and men involved in the operations and urged them along with their compatriots in other commands not to rest on their oars.
He charged them to always strive to record greater feats until the drug supply and drug demand reduction targets of the Agency are fully achieved.