Agency intercepts 75 parcels of cocaine at Lagos Airport; repeat offender caught in follow-up sting.
In a sweeping crackdown on transnational drug cartels, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has smashed a UK-bound cocaine ring, arresting a repeat offender and three accomplices after intercepting 75 parcels of cocaine weighing 1.5 kilograms at Lagos Airport.
This is contained in a statement by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in Abuja.
Babafemi said that the drugs, concealed in factory-sealed sachets of cold-water starch, heading to the United Kingdom, were intercepted at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos.
He said that three cargo agents involved in the attempt to export the consignments to the UK were swiftly arrested on Saturday, Dec. 20, before further investigations unravelled the mastermind.
“He was arrested in a follow-up operation on Sunday, Dec. 21, at a popular relaxation centre in Ikeja, where he went on a date with his girlfriend.
“The agency’s criminal database revealed that the mastermind had been arrested in May 2023 in connection with the seizure of 30.10kg of methamphetamine.
“It was concealed in powdered custard containers as part of a consolidated cargo going to London, United Kingdom, at the export shed of the Lagos airport.
“He was subsequently arraigned at a Federal High Court in charge number: FHC/L/337C/2023, convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment with an option of a fine of N7million.
“This is along with one-month community service, with effect from Dec. 4, 2023. He paid the fine and soon after returned to the same crime, “he said.
In another successful operation, Babafemi said the NDLEA operatives on Monday, Dec. 22, set ablaze tons of skunk, a strain of cannabis, and wooden warehouses in the Ara forest, Ara-Ekiti.
He said in this operation, 638 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance were also recovered.
He added that no fewer than 1,205 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa, weighing 883.1kg, were recovered from three Toyota Camry vehicles intercepted by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Igara-Auchi road, Edo state, on Monday, Dec. 22.
Babafemi said that in Cross River State, a raid operation conducted on Sunday, Dec. 21, at the Agoi-Ibami community in Yakurr LGA led to the arrest of three suspects and the seizure of various quantities of skunk.
In another operation, he said a 42-year-old lady, Joy Oisamaye, was arrested with 38kg of skunk by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Abaji-Abuja expressway on Monday, Dec. 22.
According to him, Oisamaye was on her way from Otua in Owan East LGA, Edo state.
The NDLEA spokesperson said NDLEA operatives in Lagos also arrested a female suspect with 45.5kg of skunk on Christmas Day, Thursday, Dec. 25, at Agbara, along the Badagry expressway.
Babafemi said that another suspect was nabbed with 18.5kg of the same substance at Itoga, Badagry, on Wednesday, Dec. 24.
He said that in the Takum area of Taraba state, two other suspects were nabbed with 48kg of the same substance on Tuesday, Dec. 23 and Wednesday, Dec. 24, respectively.
“In Gombe state, a 65-year-old driver was arrested while conveying 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 27,900 pills of tramadol, and other opioids, along the Gombe-Biu highway, heading to Biu in Borno state,’’ he said.
He also said that a 47-year-old businessman wanted in connection with the seizure of 56 parcels of Loud and a strain of cannabis, weighing 26kg, at the Tincan seaport in Lagos, had been arrested by NDLEA.
Babafemi said that the illicit drug consignment was seized on Dec. 10 during a joint examination of a container by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies.
“A follow-up operation by NDLEA operatives on Dec. 19 led to the arrest of one Ignatius in Apapa,”he said.
Babafemi said NDLEA had continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities, among others, across all commands and formations in the past week.
These include a WADA enlightenment lecture for students and staff of Destiny Child Academy, Nkpor, Anambra State.
With traffickers returning to crime despite convictions, NDLEA vows to intensify surveillance, prosecutions, and awareness campaigns to break the cycle of drug abuse and trafficking.
