Leadnaija
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its clampdown on drug trafficking, making a string of high-profile arrests and multimillion-naira seizures across Nigeria.
Among the most shocking incidents was the arrest of a businessman, Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, for attempting to smuggle cocaine to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday said Ezemokwe, 44, was intercepted on Saturday, 7th June, while trying to board Qatar Airways flight QR1434 to Tehran via Doha.
He said a body scan conducted by NDLEA officers revealed he had ingested illicit substances.
He was placed under close observation and later excreted 53 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.172 kilogrammes in six separate evacuations.
During interrogation, the suspect confessed to joining the transnational drug trade two years ago and claimed to have trafficked drugs between West Africa and Iran on multiple occasions.
This arrest came just two weeks after NDLEA operatives at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport apprehended 60-year-old businessman Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, who was also Iran-bound, with 65 pellets of cocaine concealed in his stomach.
In another operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA officers in the early hours of Saturday, 14th June, intercepted an Italy-bound passenger, Edobor Ambrose Ali, on an Air France flight.
Acting in collaboration with the Aviation Security unit of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the officers detected suspicious contents during baggage scanning.
A follow-up search led to the discovery of 14,410 tramadol pills, of both 225mg and 200mg strengths, carefully hidden inside winter jackets.
Edobor, who claimed to be a resident of Italy, confessed he was recruited for an all-expense-paid trip to Nigeria with instructions to courier the drugs to Milan for a payment of €2,000.
That same week, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports in Onne, Rivers State, intercepted a container carrying 157,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup with an estimated street value exceeding ₦1.1 billion.
The opioid-laden shipment was cleverly concealed behind 257 cartons of ceramic sanitary wares. The seizure was made during a joint examination of a watch-listed container involving operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
In Cross River State, on Thursday, 12th June, a warehouse in Obereakai, Odukpani Local Government Area, was stormed by NDLEA officers who uncovered a massive stockpile of 2,687 kilogrammes of skunk, a highly potent strain of cannabis.
Three suspects — Friday Achibong Joseph, 47; Abraham Anthony Willy, 21; and Utibe David Okon, 24 — were arrested during the raid. That same day, in Bauchi State, another team of operatives intercepted a Toyota Camry along the Bauchi–Jos road.
Inside the vehicle, they discovered 195 blocks of skunk weighing 287 kilogrammes. The two occupants of the car, Iriemi Imonikhe, 49, and Sa’idu Ladan, 30, were arrested and taken into custody.
On the same day in Lagos, operatives of the Marine Command recovered 14 jumbo sacks of skunk weighing 560 kilogrammes from a wooden boat at Oniru beach, further underlining the agency’s vigilance along coastal routes.
Meanwhile, at the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport in Maiduguri, two businessmen, Ishaku Abdullahi, 30, and Buba Usman, 32, were caught at the domestic wing with ecstasy pills and skunk disguised in fanciful wrappings labelled ‘Lychee’ and ‘Porro Legal’.
Commending the agency’s operatives for their relentless efforts, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), praised the officers at MMIA, PHIA, MBIAM, Onne Port, Marine, Cross River, and Bauchi Commands for their successes during the week.
He urged all personnel across the country to continue maintaining the delicate balance between reducing the supply of drugs and curbing demand through sustained public engagement and awareness campaigns.
