The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted a large consignment of illicit drugs hidden inside a truck transporting building materials in Taraba State, while also arresting a 75-year-old man and several other suspected drug traffickers in coordinated operations across the country.
The agency disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to the statement, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence intercepted a truck travelling from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Jalingo, Taraba State.
A search conducted at the Nukkai Timber Shade area of Jalingo uncovered a substantial quantity of narcotics concealed beneath the truck’s cargo.
Babafemi said a 22-year-old suspect, Buhari Abdullahi, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
“A thorough search of the vehicle by NDLEA operatives at the Nukkai Timber Shade, Jalingo, led to the discovery of a massive drug stash concealed beneath the cargo, while a 22-year-old suspect, Buhari Abdullahi, was promptly arrested,” he said.
Items recovered from the vehicle included 320,840 capsules of tramadol, 600 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 4,500 rohypnol tablets, and 299 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup.
In a separate operation in Ebonyi State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 75-year-old man identified as Okebe Samuel in Okposi community.
The agency alleged that the suspect was found with 300 grams of skunk packaged for retail distribution.
“Demonstrating that age is no barrier to the enforcement of the law, NDLEA operatives in Ebonyi State tracked down and arrested a 75-year-old grandpa, Okebe Samuel, at Okposi. The septuagenarian was found in possession of 300 grams of skunk, which he sells in retail sachets to the youth in his community,” Babafemi stated.
In Imo State, officers raided a drug hotspot in Umulolo, Orlu Local Government Area, where a 32-year-old woman, Chioma Okeke, was arrested. Authorities said about eight kilograms of skunk were recovered during the operation.
