Intercepts N4.3bn worth of opioids at Onne, Tincan ports

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 50-year-old businessman, Osuoha Christian Iheanacho, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) Enugu, for ingesting 90 wraps of cocaine.

Osuoha was intercepted on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, at the arrival hall of the Enugu Airport during the inbound screening of passengers arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on an Ethiopian airlines flight following months of intelligence and surveillance on him. He was subsequently placed on excretion observation during which he egested 90 pellets of cocaine weighing 2.019 kilograms in seven excretions.

A statement signed by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, said investigation revealed that the suspect who operated phone and accessories business in Lagos and Gabon, Central Africa, travelled by road from Gabon to Douala, Cameroon, from where he took a flight to Addis Ababa where he swallowed the pellets of cocaine while in transit and thereafter continued his journey to Enugu with Lagos as his final destination.

“He deliberately complicated his movement to distort traces of his travel history unknown to him that he has been on NDLEA watchlist for the past three months. In his statement, Osuoha said he desperately needed the money from the criminal drug trade to boost his declining phone and accessories business,” Babafemi stated.

In another well-coordinated operation carried out by a Special Operations Unit of the Agency on Thursday, November 21, head of a cocaine distribution cartel, 42-year-old Ndive Maxwell Obinna, was arrested along with five of his associates at Ago Palace Way in Okota, Isolo, Lagos. A total of 2.412 kilograms of cocaine were recovered from them.

Other members of the drug trafficking organization arrested along Obinna included:
Okeke Gloria Ifeoma who is the syndicate’s stash keeper; Ikechebelu Emmanuel Chibuzor; Okorie Onyedikachi; Okonkwo Nnabugo Prince; and Okafor Blessing Anita.

In a related development, another drug syndicate operated by a Chinese man, 58-year-old Tianzhen Yen (alias Jackie) has been dismantled by NDLEA operatives following his arrest at his hotel in Ikeja area of Lagos. Officers of the Seme Special Area Command of the Agency had on Thursday 21st November intercepted a 40-year-old suspect, Yakubu Emmanuel Mark in a commercial bus going to Ghana at the Gbaji checkpoint along Badagry-Seme expressway based on credible intelligence.

When he was searched, a total of 750grams of cocaine were found in his bag. A swift follow up operation was organized to trace and arrest the kingpin behind the trans-border drug trafficking syndicate, who turned out to be a Chinese citizen, Tianzhen Yen. He was eventually traced to MC Hotel behind Alade market, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos. When his hotel room was searched, 4.3grams of cocaine; a gram of methamphetamine; two electronic weighing scales; and Chinese National Identification Number Card, among other exhibits were recovered while he was arrested in the vicinity of the hotel.

At the Tincan seaport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Friday, November 22, intercepted 92 parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis with a combined weight of 23.25kg concealed in two vehicles imported from Canada: a Nissan car and a GMC bus. The discovery was made during a joint examination of a container from Canada by NDLEA officers, men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other stakeholders.

In Rivers state, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports complex, Onne, on Thursday 21st November intercepted two containers of imported opioids during a joint examination with men of Customs Service and other security agencies. A total of 168,000 bottles of codeine based syrup worth One Billion One Hundred and Seventy Six Million Naira (N1,176,000,000) only in street value, were recovered from one of the containers while the second one contains Four Million Five Hundred Thousand (4,500,000) pills of super royal tramadol 225mg valued at Three Billion One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N3,150,000,000) only, bringing the combined value of both the codeine and tramadol consignments to Four Billion Three Hundred and Twenty Six Million Naira (N4,326,000,000) only.

In Ekiti state, NDLEA operatives on Sunday, November 17 arrested a 50-year-old physically challenged woman, Mustapha Boja, with 286 grams of Colorado and Loud strains of cannabis at Araromi street, Ikere-Ekiti, while 64kg of cannabis sativa was recovered at Akinyele motor park, Ibadan, Oyo state on Thursday 21st November.

Not less than 1,200.5 kilograms of same psychoactive substance were seized during raids by NDLEA officers in parts of Edo state. At Utese forest in Ovia North East LGA, 463.5kg was recovered on Thursday 21st November; while 507kg was seized at a compound in Owan village, Ovia LGA where the duo of David Ojo Ederin, 60, and Afoje Frank, 24, were arrested on Friday, November 22. Another suspect, Godwin Okhoya, 40, was nabbed with 230kg of same substance at Okpuje, Owan West LGA.
In Kano, four suspects: Usman Sani, 25; Abdul Mohd, 28; Bunu Ali, 27; and Umar Musa, 30, were on Tuesday, November 19 arrested by NDLEA operatives at Gadar Tamburawa, Zaria- Kano road, with 100 blocks of cannabis weighing 45kg, while Ayuba Umar Zaranda, 55, was nabbed with 124kg cannabis at Pengana village, Toro LGA, Bauchi state.

Babafemi added that 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 Sardauna Academy, Malumfashi, Katsina state; Community Secondary School, Ede-Oballa, Nsukka, Enugu state; Government Secondary School, Riji, Kano state; Government Secondary School, Ogba, Ahoada East LGA, Rivers state and the youths and community leaders of Ilawe Ekiti, Ekiti state, among others.

While commending the officers and men of AIIA, SIU,Tincan, Onne, Seme, Ekiti, Oyo, Kano, Bauchi, and Edo Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.

Leadership