THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a Saudi Arabia-bound consignment of cannabis concealed in a gallon of palm oil at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano State.
News Point Nigeria reports that the agency also seized 8,725 kilogrammes of powdered tramadol, valued at more than ₦6.98 billion, at the Apapa port in Lagos State, as part of a series of operations across the country that resulted in the recovery of thousands of kilogrammes of cannabis and large quantities of opioids in Lagos, Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Kano and Kaduna states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
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The NDLEA disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to the statement, a female passenger, Fatimah Ahmad, was arrested on Friday, October 16, during the outward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, via Addis Ababa.
A search of her luggage revealed 511.75 grammes of cannabis concealed in a gallon of palm oil.
The suspect reportedly told operatives that her cousin, Abubakar Yahaya, had given her the gallon. Yahaya was subsequently arrested at the airport car park.
At the Apapa port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives, working alongside the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies, uncovered a shipment of powdered tramadol from India on October 2.
The consignment had been declared as maize starch, but a confirmatory test conducted at the agency’s forensic laboratory identified the substance as tramadol hydrochloride powder.
When the substance was separated from its concealment on October 14, it was found in 349 bags weighing a total of 8,725 kilogrammes, with an estimated street value exceeding ₦6.98 billion.
Similarly, operatives at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos discovered 55 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis valued at ₦165 million, on October 12.
The drugs were packed in brown cartons and concealed inside a Toyota Sienna vehicle shipped in a 40-foot container.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives raided Idumota Market in Lagos on October 14 and arrested Elizabeth Chidera Kalu, recovering 10,600 ampoules of diazepam injection and 6,500 tablets of Molly from her store.
The following day, two men, Idowu Daudu and Ahmed Oniyinde, both aged 35, were arrested in Mushin with 59.95 kilogrammes and 61.23 kilogrammes of cannabis, respectively.
Also in Lagos, operatives intercepted a truck conveying illicit drugs along Iyana Oba on October 15, following intelligence about a consignment coming from Trade Fair Market.
Two suspects, identified as Tajudeen Adeduntan, the loading manager, and his assistant, Azeez Sikiru, were arrested.
A search of the truck led to the recovery of 18,000 tablets of tramadol 250mg concealed in cartons labelled as Rambo insecticide.
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In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided Warake, Ivhiaro and Ewe/Irue communities in Owan East Local Government Area between October 15 and 16, arresting six suspects and recovering various quantities of cannabis and other drugs.
The suspects included 85-year-old Grace Ehimeka, who was arrested with 179 kilogrammes of cannabis in Warake, and 53-year-old Ayo Aigberadion, who was found with 220.8 kilogrammes in Ewe/Irue.
Others were Ali Garba, 57, arrested with 5.852 kilogrammes; Habib Braimoh, 45, with 100 grammes; Musa Mubid, 35, with two kilogrammes of cannabis, cannabis seeds, tramadol, Swinol and diazepam; and Hope Okoro, 35, with 237 grammes of Canadian Loud.
In Ondo State, operatives raided a cannabis farm in the Okemoro Isinbode camp forest on October 17, destroying 7,500 kilogrammes of cannabis cultivated on three hectares of land.
Five suspects were arrested during the operation. They were identified as Asikpo Ekpeyoung, 43; Solomon Okpani, 22; Ubong Friday, 35; Joseph Friday, 22; and Ekenimi Seth, 35.
The agency said exhibits recovered included 92 bags of cannabis weighing 1,267 kilogrammes, 11 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds and three kilogrammes of fresh stems, bringing the total weight of recovered exhibits to 1,281 kilogrammes.
In a separate operation in the Owo area of the state, operatives on October 16 tracked 53-year-old Okunebe Ndidi to his hideout in Ameyinti, where they recovered 25 bags of cannabis weighing 375 kilogrammes.
In Bauchi State, operatives intercepted a Volkswagen Golf wagon driven by 35-year-old Shamsu Garba at Ragwam village in Katagum Local Government Area on October 14.
A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 894,800 pills of tramadol capsules and Exol-5 tablets.
On the same day, officers patrolling the Bauchi-Gombe Road recovered 291 blocks of cannabis weighing 265 kilogrammes from an abandoned vehicle at Tudun Natsira village.
In Kano State, two suspects, Ali Abdullahi, 38, and Ibrahim Adamu, 23, were arrested along the Zaria-Kano Road on October 13 with 30,100 tablets of tramadol 225mg.
Another suspect, 54-year-old Murtala Dayyabu, was arrested at Niger Street, Malan Kato, on October 14 with 100,000 tablets of Exol-5.
In Kaduna State, a raid at Kayimi village led to the arrest of Mohammed Sani, 48; Zaharadeen Shafiu, 29; and Yakubu Abdullahi, 20, with 496.5 kilogrammes of cannabis.
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At Food Palace on Ali Akilu Road, Kaduna, operatives also arrested 39-year-old John Ayo David with 49,500 tablets of tramadol 225mg.
In Abuja, a 42-year-old suspect, Odo Jonas Ejike, was arrested in the Utako area on October 17 with 29,500 tramadol capsules.