NDLEA Intercept 150,000 Bottles Of Codeine Syrup Concealed Inside Container In PHC, Arrest 2 Wanted Drug Kingpins, 2 Ex-convicts In Lagos

The drug lords, identified as Ajiboye Samuel and a community leader, Alhaji Bashir Talba, were arrested in separate locations in Ogun and Lagos States on 25th and 27th September, respectively.

A statement released on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, revealed that Samuel, popularly known as “Na God,” had been declared wanted after a raid on his warehouse in the Mushin area of Lagos, where 1,101 kilograms of Ghana Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, was seized.

Babafemi explained that Samuel had been evading arrest but was finally apprehended in a bank in Ogun State.

He said, “On Wednesday, 25th September, operatives arrested wanted drug kingpin Ajiboye Samuel (a.k.a Na God), after 12 months of evasion, following the raid on his warehouse in the Akala area of Mushin, Lagos, where 1,101 kilograms of Ghana Loud were recovered on 4th September 2023. His arrest in Ogun State was the result of coordinated efforts by the Agency’s Directorate of Assets and Financial Investigation, which traced 20 bank accounts linked to the suspect and blocked them.”

In addition, the agency arrested the wives and the son of Alhaji Bashir Talba, a wanted community leader, following the discovery of 226.2kg of cannabis at their residences in Badagry on 18th September.

Babafemi stated, “Similarly, on Friday, 27th September, NDLEA operatives in Lagos took into custody a wanted community leader and Sarkin Yamma of Badagry, Alhaji Bashir Talba, after the arrest of his two wives, Hauwa and Asma’u, and son, Sadat, as well as the seizure of 226.2kg of cannabis at their homes.”

Babafemi also reported the arrests of two ex-convicts, Muhammad Machido and Zakari Buhari, in Katsina State. Machido was apprehended on the Kano-Katsina Highway with 51,000 opioid pills, while Buhari was arrested in Daura with 14 blocks of cannabis, weighing 7kg.

“Buhari was initially arrested on 8th February 2024 and sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, with an option of a ₦15,000 fine, which he paid. Similarly, Machido had been previously arrested with 45kg of cannabis sativa and 2.5kg of tramadol on 12th December 2022 and sentenced to two years in prison,” Babafemi added.

In a related development, Babafemi disclosed that an automobile spare parts dealer, Ejiofor Chiwuzie, was arrested for attempting to export consignments of heroin and loud concealed in LED rechargeable lamps and metal sofa legs through the export shed at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

He said, “Chiwuzie was arrested on Tuesday, 24th September 2024, at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, where he sells automobile parts, following the seizure of his cargo at Lagos airport. The cargo, which was destined for Liberia, contained auto parts, rechargeable lamps, metal sofa legs, and electronics. Concealed within these items were 37 parcels of heroin weighing 1.10 kilograms and four blocks of loud, with a total weight of 1.20kg.”

Further attempts by drug trafficking networks to export consignments of loud, tramadol pills, co-codamol tablets, pentazocine injections, dihydrocodeine, and promethazine tablets to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Thailand, and Oman were foiled by NDLEA officers.

The statement highlighted seizures made between 23rd and 24th September at courier companies in Lagos, which included 2.3kg of loud hidden in a carton headed for Thailand and 749 grams of tramadol concealed in locally-made footwear destined for Oman. Other items seized included 60 ampoules of pentazocine injections headed for the United States, 200 co-codamol pills destined for Australia, and 700 tablets of dihydrocodeine and promethazine, as well as 20 ampoules of pentazocine injections concealed in footwear destined for the UK.

In another operation, 9.7kg of cannabis sativa and 50 litres of “monkey tail” (a mixture of cannabis and dry gin) were recovered from one Florence Moses in the Badore area of Ajah, Lekki, Lagos.

In Kogi State, three suspects, Owolabi Dele, Ayodele Monday, and Olawale Ojo, were arrested by NDLEA operatives along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway while conveying 132 sacks of cannabis weighing 2,062.00kg in a Mercedes container truck from Osun State to Dei Dei in Abuja.

Additionally, Babafemi reported that a 57-year-old suspect, Benedict Simire, was arrested on Ayetoro Road, Kabba, while transporting 33.40kg of cannabis and a pump-action gun with six cartridges on 25th September.

He also noted that NDLEA operatives of the Marine Command intercepted a boat with two 40HP Yamaha engines carrying 71 bags of Ghana Loud, weighing 2,982kg, along Alfa Beach, Lekki, Lagos.

Babafemi said, “Men of the Nigerian Customs Service Western Marine Command assisted NDLEA officers in recovering the boat and the drugs after two suspects in the boat dived into the water.”

On 25th September, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Port Complex, Rivers State, intercepted 1,500 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup, containing a total of 150,000 bottles, during a joint inspection of a 40ft container with Nigerian Customs and other security agencies.

Additionally, in Niger State, NDLEA operatives recovered 6,000 ampoules of pentazocine injections from Chukwudi Nwanoche, 38, at the former Minna city gate, while their counterparts in Kano arrested Aminu Danmanya, 31, with 15,530 tramadol capsules at Kano Residential Hotel, Katsina Road.