NDLEA says coordinated operations across Lagos, Anambra, Kwara and others uncovered over 2.3 tonnes of cannabis worth N5.8bn and led to the arrest of three persons living with disabilities
By DANUMA AMODU
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested three persons living with disabilities for alleged drug trafficking in coordinated operations across Anambra and Kwara states, while also uncovering a massive cannabis stash estimated at over N5.8 billion in Lagos.
The arrests and seizures were announced on Sunday by NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, who said the operations formed part of the agency’s intensified crackdown on illicit drug trafficking and abuse across the country.
According to the agency, a 60-year-old suspect, Romanus Nwabara, was arrested on Wednesday during an intelligence-led raid in Akpaka Forest, Onitsha, Anambra State. Operatives reportedly recovered 250 grammes of skunk packaged in retail sachets from him.
In a separate operation in Ogbunike, Anambra State, NDLEA officers arrested another suspect identified as Amos Kenneth, 25, with various quantities of illicit substances. These included 160.3 grammes of Tramadol pills, 80 tablets of Diazepam, 38.23 grammes of Exol-5 and 176.93 grammes of skunk.
The agency also disclosed that operatives on patrol along Bode Saadu in Kwara State intercepted a commercial vehicle on Friday. A passenger, Usman Salisu, was allegedly caught with 6.3 kilogrammes of skunk concealed inside a brown school bag.
In what officials described as one of the biggest seizures in recent months, operatives of NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit raided a mansion in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, allegedly being used as a drug stash house. During the operation carried out on Friday, officers recovered 4,000 parcels of “Loud,” a potent imported strain of cannabis, weighing 2,326 kilogrammes and valued at over N5.815 billion on the street.
The agency said the drugs were discovered at a property located on African Lane, Lekki Phase 1. Two Mercedes-Benz buses and several designer packaging materials allegedly used for retail distribution of the narcotics were also seized from the premises.
Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives arrested Emmanuel Osita Okeke, 38, with 129 kilogrammes of skunk in Nyanya-Karu, Nasarawa State. Similarly, officers on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State intercepted a white commuter bus heading to Abuja and recovered 76 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 766 kilogrammes. Three suspects — Mathew Omohove, Ebuka Desmond and Babangida Musa — were arrested in connection with the seizure.
The anti-narcotics agency also uncovered a makeshift “skuchies” production factory in the Ijora Badia area of Lagos during a raid conducted on Wednesday. Two suspects, Bose Jamiu and Gbenga Gege, were reportedly arrested while allegedly mixing cannabis with other illicit substances.
NDLEA said operatives recovered 270 litres of already prepared skuchies — a dangerous cocktail of psychoactive substances increasingly abused by youths — as well as 106 grammes of Tramadol 225mg.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency said it continued its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse awareness campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, communities and religious centres across several states including Nasarawa, Ekiti, Enugu, Abia, Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Kano and Oyo.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers involved in the operations for sustaining the agency’s dual strategy of drug supply reduction and public sensitisation. Marwa urged commanders and operatives nationwide to maintain the momentum in the ongoing fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse in the country.
