By Uzor Odigbo
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have sustained their nationwide offensive action against drug traffickers with strings of arrests and seizures including an Italy-bound woman, Mrs Nnadi Nora Chinyere who was caught with 100 wraps of heroin and two parcels of the same substance at the departure hall of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.
Mrs Nnadi was arrested on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, during an outward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight to Florentine, Italy. The drugs found on her were concealed in five containers of hair relaxer cream.
Femi Babafemi, Spokesman of the anti-drug agency who made the disclosure in a statement on Sunday said that the MMIA Command also intercepted the United Kingdom bound consignment containing 66.600kg of cannabis Sativa; 1.600kg heroin and 1.450kg of cocaine with a combined weight of 69.65kilograms, all concealed inside cosmetics at the NAHCO export shed of the airport on Thursday, August 12, 2021.
He further revealed that narcotics officers of the MMIA Command on routine patrol earlier on Thursday, August 5, 2021, had intercepted a consignment of 25.8 kilograms of cocaine and cannabis concealed inside foodstuffs going to London, UK at the NAHCO export warehouse. When the export package was opened and examined, 2.3kg of cocaine and 23.5kg of compressed cannabis were discovered inside.
Similarly, during a patrol operation along Akure-Owo road, a team of operatives from Owo Area command of the Agency equally intercepted a bus from Lagos en route Owo to Ibilo, Kogi state on 7th August.
Six parcels of skunk weighing 3.6kg; 30 pinches of Crack Cocaine weighing 87grams and six sachets of Arizona weighing 265grams were recovered, while two suspects were arrested.
The Benue State Command of the agency on their part, arrested an interstate trafficker, Eze Victor Ezenwanne at Apir- Aliade road, Makurdi with 65.436kilograms of diazepam tablets on Friday, August 13, 2021.
“Same day, a suspected fake soldier, Adeyemi Segun Olamide was arrested in Maiduguri, Borno state with 650grams of skunk while a Nigerian Army ex-staff sergeant, Muffat Ekong and one Frank Iredia Obamwonyi were arrested on Wednesday 11th August with 286.3kilograms of cannabis at Ogwashi Uku, Delta state on their way to Enugu State”, he said.
Chairman of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the officers and men of the MMIA, Lagos Command, as well as their Ondo, Borno, Benue and Delta state counterparts for the huge seizures and arrests.
He charged them and other commands to sustain the current momentum, assuring that President Muhammadu Buhari recognises their efforts and would continue to motivate them to do more