The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted illicit drugs valued at more than N3.4 billion in a series of intelligence-led operations across the country, arresting several suspects, including a man accused of posing as a senior police officer and an auto mechanic allegedly involved in drug trafficking.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday.
According to him, the operations, carried out in Lagos, Edo, Delta, Niger, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Gombe, Imo and Ondo states, led to the seizure of more than 1.3 million tramadol and other opioid pills, as well as over 6,000 kilograms of cannabis.
One of the biggest recoveries, Babafemi said, was the interception of 603.75 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis valued at N1.81 billion, at the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos.
The illicit consignment was concealed inside two Toyota Sienna vehicles loaded into a 40-foot container shipped from Montreal, Canada. The container, which arrived on September 12, was placed under surveillance before a joint examination by the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies uncovered 1,200 parcels of the drug.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives arrested 49-year-old Innocent Ekpe along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Delta State with 292.48 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a Toyota Sienna bus.
Investigations, Babafemi said, revealed that Ekpe allegedly posed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police under the name Godwin Emeka, using a forged police identity card to evade security checks while transporting illicit drugs. His alleged accomplice, Nduka Joseph, was also arrested.
In Edo State, operatives raided an auto mechanic workshop on Agbor Road in Benin City, where Matthew Ossai, 45, was arrested. Officers recovered 48 kilograms of Canadian Loud, 152 grams of methamphetamine, and a metal storage box allegedly used to conceal the drugs.
The agency also intercepted a massive consignment of opioids along the Abaji-Abuja Highway, arresting Aminu Isyaku and Jamilu Habibu with more than 1.1 million tramadol tablets and capsules, codeine syrup, methamphetamine and Exol tablets allegedly being transported from Onitsha to Mararaba.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested Onyeka Ofor with 48,900 tramadol tablets at his residence in Surulere, while 59 kilograms of cannabis hidden inside seven cartons were intercepted at a logistics company, leading to the arrest of Luke Ugokwe.
Another suspect, Ibrahim Hudu, was arrested at Apongbo with 998.38 kilograms of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, which authorities said is increasingly being abused for its intoxicating effects.
Babafemi said the successful operations underscore the agency’s intensified campaign to dismantle drug trafficking networks across Nigeria.
Commending the officers involved, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to reducing both the supply of illicit drugs and the demand for narcotics through enforcement and public sensitisation.
He said the agency remains committed to intelligence-driven operations aimed at curbing drug trafficking and substance abuse across the country.