NDLEA Uncovers ₦3.4bn Drug Haul, Arrests Suspected Fake Police Officer
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted illicit drugs worth more than ₦3.4 billion in a series of operations across several states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The agency said its operatives recovered more than 1.3 million pills and capsules of tramadol and other opioids, as well as about 6,000 kilogrammes of cannabis during the operations.
The seizures were recorded across Lagos, Edo, Niger, Delta, Ondo, Gombe, Imo states and the FCT, according to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
One of the major seizures involved 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 603.75kg and valued at about ₦1.81 billion.
The consignment arrived from Montreal, Canada, on September 12 and was intercepted at the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos following intelligence-led surveillance. A joint examination involving the NDLEA, Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies on September 16 uncovered the drugs concealed in 31 black jumbo bags inside two Toyota Sienna vehicles packed in a 40-foot container.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives also arrested a 49-year-old man, identified as Innocent Ekpe, who the agency alleged had been impersonating a senior police officer to evade security checks while transporting illicit drugs.
Ekpe was arrested on September 16 along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba with 292.48kg of skunk concealed in a Toyota Sienna bus. The agency said an alleged accomplice was also arrested.
The agency further reported the recovery of more than 1.1 million assorted tramadol tablets and capsules, alongside codeine syrup, methamphetamine and Exol tablets, in another operation involving a route from Onitsha, Anambra State, towards Mararaba in Nasarawa State.
The NDLEA said the latest operations formed part of its continuing nationwide efforts to disrupt the trafficking and distribution of illicit drugs through Nigeria’s ports, highways and other routes.
