In a sweeping nationwide crackdown on drug cartels and traffickers, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted multiple consignments of hard drugs cleverly concealed in everyday items, arrested kingpins and family-run syndicates, and uncovered counterfeit foreign currency totaling $17.7 million.
By Chimezie Godfrey
In a sweeping nationwide crackdown on drug cartels and traffickers, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted multiple consignments of hard drugs cleverly concealed in everyday items, arrested kingpins and family-run syndicates, and uncovered counterfeit foreign currency totaling $17.7 million.
Among the most brazen of attempts was the concealment of 420 grams of cocaine in 84 pieces of female lipsticks bound for the United Kingdom, and 280 grams of the same drug hidden in a Certificate of Occupancy headed for Saudi Arabia. Both were seized at a courier company in Lagos on Thursday, July 3, by officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) attached to the NDLEA.
Also in Lagos, the agency arrested a notorious drug kingpin, Ajetsibo Emami, popularly known as ‘Warri Kinsman’, who was tracked and arrested in Ikeja on June 28. The bust, which followed a three-day intelligence-led operation, led to the recovery of 681 pouches of Canadian Loud cannabis weighing 414.2kg, concealed in 24 jumbo bags.
In a separate but equally alarming case, NDLEA operatives detained a couple — Ajah Johnson Uchenna and Rosemary Uchenna — along with their two daughters and a family friend for operating a family-run drug syndicate in Lagos. The couple, earlier arrested with 277.5kg of skunk, was still in custody when their house and packing store were raided again on July 1. Another 231kg of skunk was found, and the daughters — Stella, Ngozi, and Blessing Uchenna, as well as a family friend, Okoro Elijah, were apprehended while allegedly running the business in their absence.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted a frequent flyer, Aburemi Hysent, on July 2, with 7,660 pills of Tramadol (225mg and 200mg) hidden inside food items en route to Italy. Hysent reportedly confessed he was to be paid €800 upon successful delivery.
A separate interception at the airport’s export shed on July 4 unearthed 52 counterfeit travellers’ cheques worth AUD 17.7 million (approximately ₦13 billion), concealed in children’s books en route to Malaysia via Turkish Airlines. A freight agent, Bolarinwa Saheed, was arrested and handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.
In other operations across the country:
”At Seme border, Badagry, operatives recovered 718 big balls of skunk (359kg) from a store in Baba-Pupa area on July 5.
”Along the Okene-Lokoja highway, 10,000 Tramadol pills and 1.05kg of Colorado (synthetic cannabis) were seized, leading to the arrest of three suspects in Abuja: Chinedu Odo, Samuel Ogbonna, and Kingsley Ugaji.
”In Osun State, NDLEA arrested multiple suspects in Osogbo and Ile-Ife with over 62,000 opioid pills and injections, and destroyed 24,175kg of skunk cultivated on 9.67 hectares of cannabis farmland in Ikaka, Oke-Ila forest.
”In Borno, 167kg of skunk was seized in Gamboru-Ngala, while 452kg was intercepted at Gadar Tamburawa on Zaria-Kano road.
”At Abuja-Kaduna expressway, 11,000 Tramadol pills were found on Sule Ibrahim Sadiq, 30.
”In Sokoto, 62-year-old Joseph Onungene was arrested with 4,800 Tramadol pills.
”In Kebbi, raids yielded 312kg of skunk and 10,000 diazepam tablets, while in Taraba, two suspects were caught with nearly 50,000 Tramadol capsules.
”Edo State saw the arrest of a wanted suspect, Alaba Monday, with 115kg of skunk, and three others were arrested in a 2-hectare cannabis farm.
”In Cross River, a 78-year-old man, Mike Abeng, was arrested in Obubra LGA with drugs, alongside three others in Ovonum community.
”Meanwhile, the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign intensified across states, with sensitisation lectures held in Enugu, Lagos, Katsina, and Borno, targeting schools and communities”.
Commending the operatives for their efforts, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their balance between supply reduction and demand reduction, describing the achievements as a significant blow to drug cartels across the country.
“These arrests and seizures reflect our unwavering commitment to ridding Nigeria of illicit drugs. I commend our officers for their diligence and dedication,” Marwa said.