N3.4bn Drug Bust: NDLEA Arrests Fake Police, Mechanic

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted more than 1.3 million pills and capsules of tramadol and other opioids, alongside about 6,000kg of cannabis, in operations across eight states and the FCT.

The agency said the seizures had a combined street value of more than N3.4 billion and were recorded in Lagos, Edo, Niger, Delta, Ondo, Gombe and Imo states and the FCT.

One of the major seizures involved 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent cannabis strain, weighing 603.75kg and valued at N1.811 billion.

The operation led to the arrest of 49-year-old Innocent Ekpe, who the agency alleged impersonated a senior police officer to evade scrutiny while transporting illicit drugs across state lines.

Ekpe was arrested on September 16 along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba, Delta State, with 292.48kg of skunk concealed in a Toyota Sienna bus.

The NDLEA said Ekpe allegedly presented himself as Godwin Emeka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, using a forged police identification card. Nduka Joseph, 39, was also arrested.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives arrested 45-year-old Matthew Ossai at a location along Agbor Road, Benin City. The agency alleged that he used an auto-repair workshop to store illicit drugs. Operatives recovered 48kg of Canadian Loud, 152 grammes of methamphetamine and a metal box allegedly used to store the substances.

At Tin-Can Island Port, Lagos, operatives intercepted the 603.75kg Canadian Loud consignment after a joint examination with Customs and other security agencies. The drugs were concealed in 31 black jumbo bags loaded into two Toyota Sienna vehicles inside a 40-foot container shipped from Montreal, Canada.

In Niger State, three suspects were arrested along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway with firearms and ammunition, while two others arrested along the Abaji-Abuja Highway were found with more than 1.1 million tramadol tablets and capsules, codeine syrup, methamphetamine and Exol tablets.

Other operations produced further cannabis, tramadol and nitrous oxide seizures in Lagos, Gombe, Imo and Ondo.

NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa commended the officers involved and urged them to sustain intelligence-led operations against drug trafficking.

The agency said its commands also continued public sensitisation campaigns under the War Against Drug Abuse initiative.