Saudi-bound drug consignment hidden in palm oil keg intercepted at Kano airport

•As NDLEA uncovers over N7bn powdered tramadol, loud at Lagos ports; nabs 85-year-old grandma in Edo

OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a Saudi Arabia-bound consignment of skunk concealed in a gallon of palm oil, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, while a search of a shipment at the Apapa port in Lagos uncovered 8,725 kilogrammes of powdered tramadol worth more than N6.98 billion in street value.

In different operations across the country, the agency also seized thousands of kilogrammes of cannabis and large quantities of opioids in Lagos, Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Kano and Kaduna states, arresting dozens of suspects, including an 85-year-old grandmother.

At the Kano airport, NDLEA officers, last Friday, intercepted a female passenger, Fatimah (surname withheld), with a gallon of palm oil containing parcels of cannabis weighing 511.75 grammes during the outward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, via Addis Ababa.

Fatimah told operatives the gallon was given to her by her cousin, Abubakar (surname withheld), who was promptly arrested at the airport car park.

Following a joint examination with the Customs Service and other agencies at the APM terminals in Apapa, Lagos, NDLEA operatives on 2nd October uncovered a large shipment of powered tramadol from India, declared as maize starch. A confirmatory test at the NDLEA forensic laboratory showed the cargo to be tramadol hydrochloride powder. When it was separated from its concealment Wednesday, it came to 349 bags with a gross weight of 8,725 kilogrammes, worth over N6.98 billion.

In a separate operation at the Tincan port in Lagos on Monday 12th October, NDLEA officers in the course of a joint examination of a container with Customs and others, discovered 55kg of Canadian Loud worth N165 million.

The drugs were packed in brown cartons and hidden inside a Toyota Sienna vehicle conveyed in the 40-foot container.

Elsewhere in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on October 14, raided Idumota market,  where they arrested Elizabeth (surname withheld), and recovered 10,600 ampoules of diazepam injection and 6,500 tablets of Molly from her store.

In another interdiction operation in Lagos, operatives acting on credible intelligence on October 15, intercepted a truck coming from Trade Fair market with illicit drug consignments along Iyana Oba.  Two suspects were arrested.

A search of the truck led to the recovery of 18,000 pills of tramadol 250mg, concealed in cartons labelled as Rambo insecticide.

In Edo, operatives raided Warake, Ivhiaro and Ewe/Irue communities in Owan East LGA between October 15 and 16, arresting six suspects. They include 85-year-old Grace (surname withheld), arrested with 179 kilogramme of skunk at Warake, among others.

Operatives also seized large consignments of illicit substances during raids in Ondo, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 17th October raided a cannabis farm in Okemoro Isinbode camp forest, Ondo State, and destroyed 7,500kg skunk on three hectares. Five suspects were arrested: Asikpo Ekpeyoung, 43; Solomon Okpani, 22; Ubong Friday, 35; Joseph Friday, 22; and Ekenimi Seth, 35. Exhibits recovered included 92 bags of skunk weighing 1,267kg, 11kg of cannabis seeds and 3kg of fresh stems, a total of 1, 281 kilograms. In Owo area of the state, operatives on Friday 16th October, trailed 53-year-old Okunebe Ndidi to his hideout in Ameyinti where they recovered 25 bags of cannabis weighing 375kg.

Not less than 894,800 pills of tramadol capsules and exol-5 tablets were recovered from

Shamsu Garba, 35, at Ragwam village, Katagum LGA, Bauchi state when NDLEA officers intercepted his Volkswagen Golf wagon car on Wednesday 14th October. The same day, operatives on patrol along the Bauchi-Gombe road recovered 291 blocks of cannabis weighing 265kg from an abandoned car at Tudun Natsira village.

In Kano, two suspects, Ali Abdullahi, 38, and Ibrahim Adamu, 23, were arrested on Tuesday 13th October, along the Zaria-Kano road, with 30,100 tablets of tramadol 225mg seized, while a 54-year-old Murtala Dayyabu was arrested at Niger Street, Malan Kato, with 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 on Wednesday 14th October.

A raid by NDLEA operatives at Kayimi village, Kaduna state led to the arrest of Mohammed Sani, 48, Zaharadeen Shafiu, 29, and Yakubu Abdullahi, 20, with 496.5kg of cannabis. In a separate raid at Food Palace, Ali Akilu Road, Kaduna, John Ayo David, 39, was arrested with 49,500 tablets of tramadol 225mg, while a 42-year-old suspect, Odo Jonas Ejike was arrested with 29,500 capsules of tramadol at Utako area of Abuja on Saturday 17th October.

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With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Nawar-Ur-Deen High School, Ogboro, Oyo state; Elf Junior Secondary School, Bojude, Gombe; Cherubim and Seraphim Primary School, Ikorodu Lagos; Harmony Secondary School, Lokoja, Kogi; Government Secondary School, Ikot Ansa, Calabar, Cross River; Rivers State College of Health Science and Management Technology, Port Harcourt; Mesh International School, Benin City, Edo; and Abu Hanifa Academy, Kano Municipal, Kano state, among others.

While commending the officers and men of Apapa, Tincan, MAKIA, Lagos, Edo, Bauchi, Ondo, Kano, and FCT Commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach to the various successful operations, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) urged them and their colleagues across the country to sustain the onslaught against drug trafficking networks, while continuing with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.