Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a shipment containing 66 parcels of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, noted that the interception, which took place on Thursday, followed credible intelligence received ahead of the shipment’s arrival at the airport’s cargo section on 11 May.
The NDLEA placed the consignment under surveillance for over three weeks before carrying out a joint inspection with other relevant stakeholders.
The illegal drug, weighing 62.20 kilograms, was concealed in packages labelled as green tea and had arrived from Thailand via the United Arab Emirates on an Emirates Airlines flight.
In a separate operation on Monday, 2nd June, NDLEA officers seized 1,665 kilograms of skunk, another strain of cannabis, along the Lekki-Ajah Expressway in Lagos. Two suspects, Gidado Ayinde and Obanla Oluwafemi, were arrested at the scene.
Read Also: NDLEA busts Hajj cocaine ring, arrests syndicate leaders in Kano
In Kaduna State, on 3 June, NDLEA operatives arrested 29-year-old Goodluck Nnaemeka along the Abuja–Kaduna Expressway. He was found in possession of 612 bottles of codeine-based syrup and 2,970 tablets of flunitrazepam.
That same day, a 52-year-old suspect, Kabiru Musa (also known as KB), was apprehended at Kurmin Mashi. Before his arrest, 25.7 kilograms of skunk had been recovered from his hideout.
In Edo State, NDLEA personnel discovered 9 kilograms of Loud hidden in the spare tyre compartment of an Audi station wagon with registration number AAA 975 XU.
The driver, 45-year-old Atari Israel, was arrested along Auchi Road. On the same day, two women, Favour Joy and Joy Igwe, were arrested in the Ikpoba Hill area of Benin City. Recovered from them were 106.57 kilograms of skunk, 1 kilogram of Loud, 800 grams of Colorado, and 302 grams of methamphetamine.
Alongside enforcement operations, the NDLEA continued its anti-drug advocacy under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative. Sensitisation campaigns were conducted in schools across several states, including Katsina, Ebonyi, Cross River, Lagos, and Anambra.
Additionally, the agency’s Zone 13 Command paid a courtesy visit to the traditional ruler of Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa State to promote drug abuse awareness.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Retd), commended officers in Lagos, Kaduna, Edo, and other parts of the country for their efforts. He praised their balanced approach in tackling both drug supply and demand.
Recall that the agency earlier dismantled a criminal syndicate involved in trafficking cocaine to Saudi Arabia under the guise of sponsoring pilgrims for the Hajj.
Babafemi said the agency arrested three major suspects, Abubakar Muhammad, Abdulhakeem Muhammed Tijjani, and Muhammad Aji Shugaba, on May 27 and 28.
Their arrest followed the earlier apprehension of two intending pilgrims at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), who were caught attempting to smuggle cocaine.
The two pilgrims, identified as Ibrahim Umar Mustapha and Muhammad Siraj Shifado, were intercepted on Monday, May 26, while trying to board Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 940 en route to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA officials subjected them to body scans, which revealed they had ingested illegal drugs.
