The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intensified its clampdown on illicit drug networks across Nigeria, arresting a 75-year-old suspect and seizing massive quantities of narcotics, including the destruction of over 178,000 kilograms of cannabis in Taraba State.
The agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the development in a statement on Sunday, noting that the operations were carried out between August 25 and 30 in different parts of the country.
According to the statement, the elderly suspect, identified as Uchelue Ikechukwu, was arrested in Umudioka, Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State with 26.7kg of cannabis, commonly known as skunk.
Six other suspects were also apprehended in Nkwelle and Amichi areas of the state for dealing in opioids and cannabis.
In a major breakthrough in Taraba State, operatives stormed Mayodoga forest in Sardauna Local Government Area, where they destroyed a 71.5-hectare cannabis plantation owned by a 30-year-old farmer, Alfa Andrew. Andrew, who was found in possession of a Dane gun, was taken into custody after officers, supported by the military and local vigilantes, cleared the farm.
“This single operation in Taraba led to the destruction of 178,750 kilograms of skunk cultivated on a massive farmland,” Babafemi said. “The agency remains resolute in ensuring drug cartels have no hiding place.”
Other seizures included 104,900 capsules of tramadol concealed in a fuel tanker intercepted at the Abuja-Kaduna expressway, suspected to be destined for insurgents in Borno State. The driver, Hassan Buba, was arrested, while another suspect, Kabir Sulaiman, was caught with 34.1kg of skunk at a checkpoint in Zaria, Kaduna State.
In Borno, a suspected major supplier, Uchenna Umeh (33), was arrested in Maiduguri with thousands of opioid pills and N7.9 million in cash, believed to be proceeds of drug sales.
Similar raids were conducted in Nasarawa, Gombe, Kano, Adamawa, Edo, Lagos, Ondo, and Ekiti states, leading to multiple arrests and recovery of hundreds of thousands of pills, cannabis, codeine-based syrups, and other narcotics.
In Ekiti, a suspected drug kingpin, Ajayi Ayodeji Idowu, also known as Atiku, was apprehended with what the NDLEA described as the largest single seizure of Loud, Colorado, and methamphetamine in the state.
Reacting to the nationwide operations, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the operatives, stressing that the agency would not relent in its fight against drug trafficking.
“Every kilogram of drugs seized and every trafficker arrested is a step closer to saving our youths and protecting the future of Nigeria,” Marwa said. “We will continue to dismantle drug syndicates and ensure offenders face the full weight of the law.”
