A Chinese businessman, Liang Tak You and an 80-year-old grandma, Mrs. Grace Ekpeme were among those arrested in the course of last week by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in nationwide interdiction operations leading to the seizure of consignments of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis hidden in bean pudding (moimoi) sachets and Canadian Loud, another strong strain of cannabis concealed in canned food items imported from Canada.
According to a statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, Liang was arrested by NDLEA operatives at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos last Friday based on actionable intelligence.
He said the suspect, who arrived Nigeria from Bangkok via Dubai, UAE, on Emirates Airline flight, is a Chinese national, naturalised and based in Malaysia, but flew to Thailand where he picked two suitcases filled with 50 parcels of Loud weighing 26.1 kilogrammes before heading to Nigeria via UAE.
Babafemi said upon his arrival at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives who were tracking his movement from his port of departure allowed him to pass through necessary protocols before picking him up on his way out of the airport.
The octogenarian grandma, Mrs. Grace Ekpeme, according to Babafemi, was arrested at Edet-Nsa street, Base Site, Calabar South, Cross River state with over 3 kilogrammes skunk in the early hours of Saturday following intelligence on her drug dealing activities.
He said in Lagos, NDLEA operatives last Wednesday intercepted a suspect Chidi Agbafo along Epe – Ajah expressway while taking consignments of 21.7 kilogrammes Colorado, some of which were packaged in moimoi cooking sachets and 3.8 litres of codeine based syrup in a commercial bus to deliver in Warri and Oghara, Delta state.
The spokesman said at the Apapa seaport in Lagos, a total of 101 kilogrammes Canadian Loud factory packed in 202 tins of imported food item labelled ‘Bean Salad Mix’ and concealed in two Toyota Sienna buses in a container that came from Canada, were recovered, adding that the discovery was made during a joint examination of the container by NDLEA officers, men of Customs Service and other security agencies last Friday.
He said no fewer than 71,000 pills of tramadol, diazepam and exol-5 were recovered from Usman Musa by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Abuja- Kaduna highway last Wednesday when the suspect was travelling with the consignment of opioids in a commercial bus going to Kano.
In Borno, a 30-year-old lady Binta Usman was last Wednesday arrested by NDLEA officers who recovered 30.1 kilogrammes skunk from her house at Muna Moforo area of Maiduguri, with a follow up operation leading to the arrest of her accomplice Bala Abdullahi in the same area of the Borno state capital on Friday.
Babafemi said three brothers: Nanna Ozirinye, Chizom Ozirinye and Maxwell Ozirinye were on Saturday arrested when NDLEA operatives raided a cannabis plantation at bending corner forest, Idoani, Ose local council area of Ondo State where they destroyed 2,500 kilogrammes of skunk on an hectare of land and recovered already processed 121.4 kilogrammes of same psychoactive substance.
In Edo state, NDLEA officers last Wednesday raided the Asakpa community in Benin city, where they arrested a 26-year-old lady Bright Okon and recovered various quantities of Colorado, Loud, Arizona and skunk, all strains of cannabis as well as Methamphetamine from her.
He said while a total of 105.4 kilogrammes skunk was recovered by NDLEA operatives from an abandoned Honda car marked ABC 204 KM in Keffi, Nasarawa state, their counterparts in Niger state last Monday arrested a suspect Bashir Abdullahi with 6,400 pills of tramadol 225mg at Kasuwan Gwari area of Minna, even as a notorious drug dealer Jamiu Omolaja was taken into custody and 113 kilogrammes skunk retrieved from his enclave in Ifo, Ogun state last Thursday after a violent resistance and attack on NDLEA operatives by members of his gang.
Babafemi said a total of 10,910 capsules of tramadol were seized from a suspect Adamu Adamu (a.k.a Dankyado) by NDLEA officers on patrol along Gombe-Bajoga road, Gombe state on Saturday, while operatives in Kogi state last Thursday intercepted a consignment of skunk concealed inside garri, dried scent leaves, and other food items along Okene-Lokoja highway.
He disclosed that a follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of 27-year-old Kindness Bala who was planning to travel to Katsina state with the cargo and later to Qatar.
Similarly, operatives in Kogi on Saturday recovered 23,600 pills of tramadol, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 700 grammes of skunk from a truck at a motor park in Ayingba area of the state.
Babafemi said the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands equally continued across the country in the past week.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), while commending the officers and men of MMIA, Apapa, Lagos, Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Nasarawa, Borno, Niger, Ogun, Gombe, Kaduna and Kogi commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
Michael Olugbode
