The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted a massive consignment of Canadian Loud cannabis worth an estimated ₦12.397 billion at the Apapa Port in Lagos while also dismantling a criminal network that allegedly hides illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting interstate travellers.
The agency also arrested a businesswoman at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after discovering 7.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the false bottom of her suitcase as she prepared to board a flight to Beijing, China.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the suspect, identified as 38-year-old Iwebema Ogechi Peace, was apprehended on June 21 at Terminal 2 of the airport following intelligence reports.
According to the statement, a detailed search of her luggage uncovered four large parcels of cocaine carefully concealed inside a professionally modified false compartment.
The NDLEA disclosed that its operatives had monitored a 40-foot container carrying the cannabis shipment for more than four weeks before intercepting it during a joint examination with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies at the Apapa Port on June 23.
“The operation resulted in the recovery of 4,959 kilograms of Canadian Loud cannabis with an estimated street value of ₦12.397 billion,” the statement said.
Investigations revealed that the container, which also carried Ford and Nissan vehicles, departed Toronto on April 25, transited through Montreal and Morocco before arriving in Lagos.
The anti-narcotics agency also announced the dismantling of a syndicate accused of secretly planting drugs in passengers’ bags on interstate buses.
The breakthrough followed the interception of a Sienna bus travelling from Nnewi, Anambra State, to Abuja, where officers recovered 467.7 grams of methamphetamine concealed in a passenger’s luggage.
Babafemi explained that the passenger, Gloria Peter, denied ownership of the drugs, prompting investigators to arrest the bus loaders in Nnewi.
“The loaders confessed that one of them placed the drug package inside the woman’s bag on the instruction of the bus driver, Abdurrazak Isah. Further investigation led the driver to identify another passenger, Onyebuchi Victor Okoye, as the actual owner of the narcotics. He was subsequently arrested in Utako, Abuja,” the statement added.
In another operation, NDLEA officers arrested 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe at Iddo Motor Park in Lagos with 209.5 kilograms of Scottish Loud cannabis allegedly destined for Enugu State.
The agency also arrested two Beninese nationals, Hossou Tito Julien, 30, and Mancellim Dossou, 19, alongside a Nigerian, Jackson ThankGod, after intercepting a truck transporting illicit drugs from Togo through the Benin Republic.
According to the statement, a search of the vehicle uncovered 558,900 pills of Tramadol 250mg hidden inside a specially fabricated compartment.
Similarly, operatives arrested Lucky Abonga and Osas Azamobo along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway after allegedly discovering 118 kilograms of skunk concealed among legitimate goods in a truck heading to Onitsha, Anambra State.
In Amukoko, Lagos, officers also arrested Helen Ese Idiji, 40, and Rashidat Sa’adullah, 53, with 28.8 kilograms of skunk.
Investigators alleged that Helen used Rashidat’s residence as a storage facility before distributing the illicit drugs to customers.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers involved in the various operations, urging them to sustain the agency’s offensive against drug trafficking across the country.
He praised the commands for maintaining a balance between drug supply reduction efforts and the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) awareness campaign, encouraging them to remain committed to the fight against illicit drugs.
