Mukaila Ola
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested three trans-border drug traffickers while trying to smuggle 48,000 tablets of 225mg Tramadol through Mubi, Adamawa state to neighbouring Cameroon.
Also intercepted is over 1,500 kilogrammes of imported Loud and other illicit substances in raids across Lagos and Edo states.
A statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi said arrested
at Tsamiya Junction, Madanya Road, Mubi, in Mubi North local government area of Adamawa State trying to smuggle the drugs into Cameroon last Friday are Mohammed Hussaini, 32; Adamu Bella, 18, and Mohammed Umar, 18.
He said they were arrested with the exhibits concealed in the packets of another drug and during interrogation they claimed the drugs were being taken to Bagira town along Nigeria-Cameroon border to be delivered to some Cameroonians for onward delivery to Maroa in Cameroon.
He said a similar interdiction operation was carried out at Alaba Rago area of Lagos, where operatives of the state command of the agency intercepted 1,200 parcels of imported Loud, a strong variant of cannabis suspected to have been smuggled into the state from a neighbouring country with a total weight of 1,229 kilogrammes.
He said in another raid last Wednesday at Suru Alaba, Ajeromi-Ifelodun local government area of Lagos State, operatives arrested one Ibrahim Musa, 25, with 18,530 tablets of Tramadol, Rohynol, Diazepam, Exol-5, and 138 bottles of Codeine.
Babafemi also revealed that at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, operatives at the SAHCO export shed of the airport during their routine cargo search intercepted a consignment of 22 international passports of six different countries concealed in a bag of gari among other food items.
He disclosed that nine of the passports were three each of UK, France and Portugal, while the rest were: Nigeria -8; Ghana -4 and Cameroon -1.
He said also at the airport, operatives equally recovered 12 parcels of cannabis weighing 4.95 kilogrammes concealed in a carton of Golden Morn packaged for export through the SAHCO export shed.
Babafemi said in Plateau state, a team of NDLEA officers last Friday arrested two suspects; Emeka Ezenwa, 37, and Julius Akingbe, 45, for being in possession of 126.5 grammes of methamphetamine concealed inside a DVD player coming from Lagos, while a raid in Kampani Zera- Wase local government area of the state on Friday led to the arrest of Fatima Sadiq, 20, who was caught with 21.3 kilogrammes cannabis.
He noted that a similar raid on Friday of a notorious drug joint, Bakin Kogi Ringim, Jigawa state led to the recovery of different quantities of Cannabis, Diazepam, Exol-5 and some new psychoactive substances with a total weight of 8.7 kilogrammes as well as weapons such as knives, cutlasses, Gora sticks, catapults and charms.
He said in Edo State, operatives recovered 19 bags of cannabis weighing 144.1 kilogrammes stored in the bush along Uromi Road, Esan North East local government area ready to be transported to other parts of the country, while eight bags of the same substance weighing 111 kilogrammes were recovered from a bush at Iruekpen, Esan West local government area.
Meanwhile, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) has commended officers and men of Lagos, MMIA, Adamawa, Plateau and Edo commands of the agency for their tenacity and vigilance.
He however charged them along with their colleagues across the country not to relent until the last gramme of illicit drug is recovered from every part of Nigeria.