Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have foiled attempts to smuggle cocaine concealed in a local mortar and a specially modified backpack to China and Italy, as the agency intensified its nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking.
The seizures were made by operatives of the NDLEA’s Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) at a logistics company in Lagos on Thursday, July 30, where officers intercepted 250 grammes of cocaine factory-fitted into the base of a local mortar packaged for export to China and 500 grammes of cocaine concealed in the false bottom of a backpack destined for Italy.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the interceptions formed part of a series of coordinated operations that led to the arrest of suspected drug traffickers and the seizure of large quantities of illicit substances across several states.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence arrested a 38-year-old suspected drug dealer, Ugo Gift Okonkwo, at Eagle Island, Port Harcourt, on Sunday, July 26.
Babafemi said various quantities of cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, swinol, tramadol and codeine syrup were recovered from the suspect at the time of his arrest.
In another operation, NDLEA officers conducting a stop-and-search exercise at the DMGS Roundabout in Onitsha, Anambra State, intercepted a truck marked XK 131 BDG loaded with 26,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 3,960 kilogrammes. The driver, Chinedu Nwanze, 40, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
Similarly, operatives recovered 331.84 kilogrammes of skunk from a Toyota Sienna bus with registration number KUJ 26 DV along the Kwale-Ughelli Expressway in Delta State on Sunday, July 26.
In Nasarawa State, a 64-year-old suspect, Joseph Nwaeke, was arrested at Asso Angwan Muazu in the Karu area on Tuesday, July 28, with 68 kilogrammes of skunk and 29 grammes of methamphetamine.
Also, along the Zaria-Gusau Highway in Zamfara State, NDLEA operatives intercepted Sani Umar, 27, who was found conveying 7,400 pills of tramadol (225mg) suspected to be supplies intended for criminal elements.
Babafemi also disclosed that the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation as well as Commands in Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara States for the successful operations.
“While commending the officers and men of DOGI, Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara Commands for the various successful operations, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency,” Babafemi stated.
The latest seizures underscore the agency’s sustained offensive against drug trafficking networks, as it combines intelligence-led enforcement with public sensitisation to curb illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse across Nigeria.
