The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says its operatives have arrested two wanted heads of transnational criminal organisations with multi-billion-naira worth of illicit drugs and assets seized from them after weeks of intelligence-led operations across the country and outside Nigeria.
NDLEA said the arrest of the wanted drug lords came on the
heels of the interception of consignments of cocaine and heroin buried in the
bellies of two traffickers heading to Paris, France, and Doha, Qatar, by NDLEA
officers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja.
This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by Femi
Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy.
Babafemi also stated that the agency’s operatives at the
Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday took
into custody, Hakeem Babatunde Salami, the arrowhead of “Tajudeen Babatunde
Abioye Transnational Criminal Organization” involved in the illicit trade of
several narcotics including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and ephedrine
between Nigeria, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Mozambique, and Europe.
According to the NDLEA, Salami fled Nigeria to South Africa
upon the arrest of a member of his syndicate, Suleiman Babatunde Oba, at the
Lagos airport on August 25 over attempt to export 25.10kgs of ephedrine to
South Africa.
However, Salami was smoked out of hiding through partnership
with South African authorities and other intelligence and investigative
mechanisms, with some of his luxury vehicles seized, including his home in
Surulere, Lagos.
Salami joined other members of his cartel, Suleiman and
Godwin Edet Mathew, who were already in the custody of the NDLEA .
In a related operation, the anti-narcotic agency claimed
that the head of another cartel, Okafor Ikechukwu Williams (aka Jantu), and his
wife, Okafor Ifeyinwa Grace, were also taken into custody on Thursday 5th
October when operatives raided their hideout at 9 Awa Street, Ago Palace, Okota
area of Lagos, where they recovered 27.566 kilograms of methamphetamine
concealed in a blue box and two sacks, ready for export to Europe and Asia,
with their Lexus RX350 marked ABJ 512 AY also seized during the operation.
At the Abuja airport, operatives on Friday 6th October,
arrested a drug trafficker, Nwofor Ejiogu Charles, 45, during the outward clearance
of Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Doha. After body scan revealed he ingested
cocaine, he was placed under observation during which he excreted 75 pellets of
cocaine weighing 1.653kgs. At the point of his arrest, Nwofor, who was the last
passenger to board his flight, offered to compromise an NDLEA officer with
$3,000 to free him.
The following day, Saturday 7th October, another trafficker,
Nwufo Charles Okwudili, 45, was also arrested while attempting to board
Lufthansa Airlines flight LH 0595 to Paris, France, via Frankfurt, Germany.
After being put through a body scanner, he was taken into the recovery room
where he excreted 96 wraps of heroin he ingested with a total weight of
1.413kgs.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene -Lokoja-Abuja
expressway on Tuesday 10th October intercepted a commercial bus travelling from
Lagos to Kano. A search of the bus led to the seizure of $4,880,000 and
CFA57,000,000 suspected to be counterfeits.
The statement also added that “In Sokoto, the Federal High
Court in the state capital presided over by Justice Ahmad Mahmud has sentenced
an acting district head, Alhaji Umar Mohammed (aka Dan Bala) to five and a half
years in jail on four count charges of possession and dealing in 436.38kgs
cannabis and 7kgs psychotropic drugs brought against him by NDLEA in October
2022. He was convicted and sentenced to two years on each of counts 1 and 2
with an option of N1million fine, and eight months on each of counts 3 and 4
without an option of fine.
“Operatives in Edo state on Wednesday 11th October stormed
the Orue forest, Owan West LGA where they arrested Happy Akashili, 37, and
Solomon Uwesue, 40 in a hut located inside a cannabis farm measuring 2.367308
hectares which was destroyed, with 92kgs already processed skunk recovered,
while 49kgs of same substance were also seized at Ogbeturu camp”.
However, NDLEA said its commands across the country have
continued to balance their drug supply reduction operations with War Against
Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaigns to schools, markets, worship centres and
communities.
According to the statement, “these include: WADA
sensitisation lecture on Drug Use and Mental Health for students of 15
secondary schools in Ibadan metropolis at the University of Ibadan, Oyo state;
WADA sensitisation lecture for students of Ascension College, Iworo Imeke,
Badagry Lagos; WADA sensitisation lecture at Modern Comprehensive College,
Amokwe, Udi LGA, Enugu; WADA sensitisation lecture for students of National
Secondary school, Awka; Students of JIBWIS Islamic Science Secondary school,
Herwagana, Gombe; students of Government College, Makurdi, Benue; students of
Government secondary school (Boys), Kafin Maiyaki, Kano and students of JNI
Special Model primary School, Gusau, Zamfara.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA,
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has commended the efforts of the NAIA,
MMIA, Kogi, Sokoto and Edo Commands of the Agency as well as the Special
Operations Unit targeting the drug cartels, for jobs well done in the past
week.
Marwa assured that officers and men of the Agency will never
let down their guards no matter the tricks and distractions orchestrated
against it by criminal networks.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com