Operatives of the Nationwide Drug Legislation Enforcement Company have arrested an Ibadan-based businesswoman, Adewunmi Dorcas and an auto components vendor, Arinze Ora, over makes an attempt to export consignments of opioids and cocaine to London, United Kingdom and Congo Brazzaville, respectively.
The NDLEA officers on the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed Worldwide Airport, Lagos, had on Friday, September 6, 2024, intercepted a cargo going to the UK.
In accordance with a press release on Sunday by the company’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, a radical search of the consignment revealed that 924 bottles of codeine-based syrup weighing 135.70kg and 5,250 tablets of Rohypnol have been hidden in cartons of foodstuffs.
“The freight agent, Owojori Olanrewaju Sunday, who introduced the cargo for export, was promptly arrested. Additional investigation led to the arrest of one other suspect, Adewunmi Akeem Temitope, who claimed that his mom, 58-year-old Mrs. Adewunmi Adebola Dorcas despatched the consignment to him from Ibadan to ship to the agent. A follow-up operation on Saturday, September 7, led to the arrest of Mrs Adewunmi in Ibadan, the place she offers in foodstuffs and cargo export.
“In his assertion, the agent, Owojori, confessed that he had been working for Mrs Adewunmi to export cargoes to the UK, including that he was paid N2,411,000.00 for the job, whereas he was paid N2.1million for the same consignment dealt with for the businesswoman earlier,” the assertion added.
Babafemi additionally stated the NDLEA operatives on the identical export shed of the Lagos airport on September 11 intercepted some cartons of auto spare components and Checker powder custard going to Congo Brazzaville on Ethiopian Airways.
He added {that a} diligent search of the cargo led to the invention of 300 grams of cocaine hid within the containers of Checker powder custard packed along with some auto components.
“A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the sender of the consignment, Arinze Ora, who offers in auto components at Store 12, Block 7 Aspanda Commerce Honest Auto Elements Wing, Amuwo Odofin space of Lagos,” Babafemi stated.
Moreover, Babafemi stated operatives arrested two brothers, Ikechukwu Ikeabba and Ugochukwu Ikeabba, who have been sponsors of drug traffickers who specialised in exporting medication by ingestion to Vietnam on September 10.
“Their arrest adopted a diligent investigation of an earlier arrest of an Onitsha, Anambra State based-businessman, Ibeanusi Solomon Nosike, who excreted 68 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.282 kilograms after 12 days of excretion commentary after he was arrested on the native wing of the Lagos airport by the NDLEA operatives.
“The 36-year-old Ibeanusi was arrested within the early hours of Thursday, August 8, 2024, on the previous home terminal of the Lagos airport whereas making an attempt to board the primary flight out of Lagos to Abuja the place he was scheduled to affix a Qatar Airways flight to Vietnam on the Nnamdi Azikiwe Worldwide Airport, Abuja, at about 10 am, the identical day,” Babafemi stated.
He additionally stated the brothers have been linked to a different Vietnam-bound businessman, 54-year-old Paul Mbadugha, who was arrested by the NDLEA operatives on the Abuja airport on August 12, 2024, in the course of the outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam through Doha after he examined constructive to ingestion of cocaine.
He recalled that 4 days underneath commentary, Mbadugha excreted a complete of 88 wraps of the illicit drug with a gross weight of 1.710 kilograms.
“On the time of the arrest of the 2 kingpins, the Ikeabba brothers, they have been caught with 87 wraps of cocaine dummies utilized in coaching intending swallowers,” Babafemi added.
In Gombe State, Babafemi stated the NDLEA operatives appearing on credible intelligence on September 14 arrested three suspects: Auwal Abdullahi, Isah Rabiu and Abubakar Da’u alongside Bauchi-Gombe Street whereas travelling in a DAF truck marked GME 552 ZU.
He famous {that a} search of the automobile led to the seizure of two,490,000 capsules of Tramadol hid with baggage of salt.
In one other operation in Kaduna State, Babafemi stated a suspect, Idris Adamu, was arrested with 41.5 kilograms of hashish sativa at Kachia city on September 10, whereas two suspects: Godiya Jikuk, and Yusuf Umaru, have been nabbed at Isinbode-Ekiti, Ekiti State with a complete of 73.6kg hashish on Wednesday, September 11.
“In Bauchi State, no fewer than 208,920 capsules of Tramadol and Diazepam have been seized from a suspect, Chinedu Asadu, 35, on Thursday, September 13, whereas 104kg of hashish was recovered from two suspects, Abba Abdullahi and Mustapha Yahaya, alongside the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Tuesday, September 10, by operatives in Lagos State.
No fewer than 350,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup have been found by the NDLEA operatives in two containers shipped from India throughout a joint examination of the containers with males of the Nigeria Customs Service and different safety companies on the Tincan port in Lagos on Tuesday, September 10. The containers have been a part of these focused by the NDLEA for 100 per cent examination,” the assertion concluded.