NDLEA Seizes ₦12.4bn Worth of Drugs, Arrests Businesswoman with Cocaine at Lagos Airport
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded a major breakthrough in its fight against drug trafficking, seizing illicit drugs worth over ₦12.4 billion and arresting several suspects in coordinated operations across the country.
The agency’s biggest seizure was 4,959 kilograms of Canadian Loud cannabis intercepted at the Apapa Port in Lagos. NDLEA said the drug shipment, with an estimated street value of ₦12.397 billion, was hidden inside a 40 foot container carrying two vehicles. Officials revealed that the container had been under surveillance for more than four weeks before it was intercepted.
In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA arrested 38 year old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, while she was preparing to board a flight to Beijing, China. Officers discovered 7.5 kilograms of cocaine carefully concealed inside a secret compartment in her travelling bag.
The agency also uncovered a criminal syndicate that secretly hides drugs inside the luggage of unsuspecting passengers travelling on commercial buses. The discovery followed the interception of a Sienna bus travelling from Nnewi, Anambra State, to Abuja, where officers recovered methamphetamine hidden inside a passenger’s bag. Investigations later led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the drugs after the passenger denied any knowledge of the package.
In another operation, NDLEA arrested a 57 year old suspect at Iddo Motor Park in Lagos with 209.5 kilograms of Scottish Loud cannabis allegedly being transported to Enugu.
The agency also arrested two nationals of the Benin Republic and a Nigerian after intercepting a truck transporting 558,900 tablets of Tramadol concealed inside a specially constructed compartment while entering Nigeria from Togo through the Benin Republic.
Along the Lagos Ibadan Expressway, operatives arrested two suspects transporting 118 kilograms of skunk hidden among legitimate goods in a truck heading to Onitsha, Anambra State.
In Amukoko, Lagos, two women were also arrested with 28.8 kilograms of skunk, while investigations revealed that one of them allegedly used the other’s residence as a storage and distribution point for illegal drugs.
Commending the officers involved, NDLEA Chairman, retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, praised the successful operations and urged personnel across the country to sustain the fight against drug trafficking and abuse.
