The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have intercepted a shipment of 157,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth over N1.1 billion in street value at the Port Harcourt Ports in Onne, Rivers State
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy.
According to him, the seizure was made during a joint examination of a watch-listed container in collaboration with operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
“The opioid consignment was concealed behind 257 cartons of ceramic sanitary wares,” he said.
Babafemi said that three suspects, Friday Achibong Joseph (47), Abraham Anthony Willy (21), and Utibe David Okon (24), were arrested on Thursday, 12th June, when NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Obereakai, Odukpani LGA, Cross River State.
“A total of 2,687kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, was recovered,” he explained.
He further revealed that, on the same day in Bauchi State, NDLEA officers, acting on credible intelligence, intercepted a Toyota Camry marked AKL 201 GG along the Bauchi–Jos road, discovering 195 blocks of skunk weighing 287kg.
Two suspects, Iriemi Imonikhe (49) and Sa’idu Ladan (30), were arrested.
Babafemi added that on Thursday, 12th June, operatives of the Marine Command of the NDLEA recovered 14 jumbo sacks of skunk weighing 560kg from a wooden boat at Oniru Beach in Lagos.
“On the same day, officers at the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport, Maiduguri (MBIAM) arrested two businessmen, Ishaku Abdullahi (30) and Buba Usman (32) at the arrival hall of the domestic wing of the airport.”
“They were found with various quantities of ecstasy pills and skunks, cleverly packaged in fanciful wraps labelled ‘Lychee’ and ‘Porro Legal’,” he added.
Additionally, Babafemi disclosed that barely two weeks after NDLEA operatives at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, arrested a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo for attempting to smuggle 65 pellets of cocaine to Iran, another arrest has been made at the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA).
On Saturday, 7th June, 44-year-old Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian was apprehended while attempting to board Qatar Airways flight QR1434 to Tehran Khomeini, Islamic Republic of Iran, via Doha.
A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, and during excretion observation, he expelled 53 wraps of cocaine in six excretions, with a total weight of 1.172kg.
According to the suspect, he has been involved in the illicit drug trade for two years, operating between the West African sub-region and Iran.