Funke Busari
At least 14 hectares of cannabis farms have been destroyed and 172.6kg of the illicit drug were recovered from some forests in Ovia North East area of Edo State, Nigeria by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
Operatives of the anti-drug agency also arrested three female and a male suspects in raids across Owan East and Akoko Edo areas of the state in connection with cannabis of different quantities and local mixtures called monkey tail alledgedly recovered from them.
The operations was carried out between 8th and 16th September, 2021.
A certain Shuaibu Yusuf, who alledgedly concealed 537kg of cannabis sativa among bags of cement in a truck was also picked on Friday 17th September with in Kano State.
In Ogun State, five persons were arrested while conveying 552kg cannabis in a truck at Ogere Remo, along Lagos-Ibadan expressway where they were intercepted on 14th September, 2021.
Spokesperson of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi said that narcotic officers have arrested a 21-year-old Law Ubi in possession of 4.2grams of cocaine found in his apartment on Saturday following his arrest by motorised patrol at Marian Road, Calabar, Cross River state with 67.4 kg cannabis on Friday 17th September.
A female passenger, Isesele Obehi and one Emmanuel Chibuzor Omebere exploits to export illicit drugs to Europe through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja did not go unnoticed by narcotic officers who arrested them shortly before they boarded their flights.
Isesele was said to have been nabbed on Saturday 11th September, 2021 during outward clearance of Ethiopian Airline flight at Gate B departure hall of the Lagos airport on her way to Milan, Italy with 312 sachets of Tramadol, weighing 1.5kg, concealed in crayfish and dried vegetables.
Chibuzor on his part was caught with 137.45 grams of the same drug concealed in foodstuff at the Abuja airport on Thursday 2nd September during outward clearance of Turkish Airline flight to Istanbul, Turkey.
Efforts by desperate traffickers to export varying sizes of consignments containing cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs through courier firms were also thwarted.
Items found in their loads alledgedly being couried by courier firms in Lagos include 475grams of heroin concealed in food items going to Canada, 202grams of cocaine hidden in body cream containers going to Australia; 720grams of cannabis Sativa tucked in computer hard drives heading to United Arab Emirates, UAE and another 2.1kg of cannabis hidden in body cream bottles going to Oman, while 60grams of cocaine concealed in degree certificates meant for Australia was also seized.
A 38-year-old pregnant woman, Kate Ngozi Nwuju has also attracted the wrath of the law for alledgedly dealing in drugs.
She was arrested on Tuesday, 14th September, 2021 at her residence in Rumueme, Mile 4 area of Port Harcourt, Rivers state with 4.5kilograms of cannabis following an intelligence.
Aliyu Saidu, also suspected to be a fake soldier was arrested with 2.3kg of Cannabis Sativa in a commercial bus from Lagos to Makurdi, on Monday 13th of September at Aliade checkpoint, Benue State.
Applauding the officers and men of various commands who participated in the operations, as well as those of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation, DOGI, of the Agency for maintaining the heat on drug dealers, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) said their efforts “further reaffirm our determination that those in this criminal trade will always have the new NDLEA to contend with; whether in their homes, on the streets, at the ports and deep in the forests, we’ll chase them with every legitimate force and smoke them out, up to the last man or woman if they fail to repent.”
