A consignment of 500 components used for manufacturing improvised explosive devices (IEDs), was intercepted in Kogi State by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), while also arresting a Cameroonian national transporting a consignment of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, in Kogi State.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the agency detailed a series of anti-narcotics operations carried out across several states.
According to the statement, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Mokwa–Jebba Road in Niger State intercepted a commercial bus travelling from Ibadan with a suspicious white sack containing 500 pieces of IED components.
The agency said the items were meant to be delivered to a recipient in Pelegi community.
“A swift follow-up operation led to the arrest of the recipient, Osama Abdullahi, 21, at Pelegi in Mashegu Local Government Area of Niger State,” the statement said.
In a separate operation on March 3, NDLEA officers patrolling the Kabba–Obajana highway in Kogi State intercepted a consignment of Colorado weighing 1.550 kilogrammes concealed in a standing fan carton.
The drugs were linked to a 36-year-old Cameroonian national, Mey Ali Muhamat, who was travelling in a commercial bus from Lagos to Cameroon through Lokoja, Kano and Maiduguri.
The suspect, who hails from Maroua, was immediately arrested.
In Abuja, NDLEA officers also intercepted a businessman transporting large quantities of controlled drugs concealed in baby diapers.
Babafemi said the suspect, Emeka Hyginus Okwor, 32, was arrested on Tuesday, March 3 while travelling from Obollo-Afor in Enugu State to Zuba in the Federal Capital Territory.
“When his luggage was searched, 1,000 pills of Tapentadol 250mg were found concealed inside baby diapers,” Babafemi said.
“The suspect admitted ownership of the drugs and revealed that he was taking the consignment to Guduwa village in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State where he runs a provision store.”
The agency also recorded other arrests and seizures in different parts of the country.
In Yola, NDLEA operatives recovered no fewer than 122,000 pills of tramadol and 700 grams of methamphetamine concealed in the false bottom of a truck transporting 2,000 cartons of local drinks.
The truck was marked ENU 645XX.
In Kano, officers arrested a suspect, Muhammed Ali, 20, at Gadar Tamburawa with 11,283 pills of tramadol.
Similarly, in Ogun State, NDLEA operatives conducted a raid in Ogere community where two suspects, Nazifi Mudansir and Kabiru Musa, were arrested with 46 kilogrammes of skunk.
In Delta State, two suspects identified as Joy Chukwuma, 25, and Eugene Felix, 22, were arrested at Ogwashi-Uku on March 7.
NDLEA said the suspects were found in possession of 18.63 kilogrammes of skunk, 10.8 litres of codeine-based syrup and 4,268 pills of tramadol and swinol.
In Edo State, operatives destroyed large cannabis farms during operations in Egbisi Forest in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area.
Two suspects, Eke London, 48, and Austin Isusi, 49, were arrested during the operation where 1,910.25 kilogrammes of skunk cultivated on two farms were destroyed.
Another suspect, Alaba Adeboye, 47, was also arrested in Ikhin town in Owan East Local Government Area with 176.50 kilogrammes of skunk.
Reacting to the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers across several state commands for their efforts in combating drug trafficking and related crimes.
He praised the operatives in Lagos, the FCT, Kano, Niger, Kogi, Edo, Ogun, Delta and Adamawa states for their dedication.
Marwa urged officers to sustain the agency’s balanced strategy combining enforcement operations with drive.
