The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced a string of nationwide operations that led to the interception of large drug consignments intended for terrorists and bandits in the North-East, alongside the arrest of several notorious drug traffickers, including two kingpins in Lagos.
According to the agency, operatives in Borno State apprehended 26-year-old Baba Kaka Ibrahim on September 27 at Njimtilo village while driving a Mercedes Benz GLK. Concealed in the vehicle’s engine compartment were 39,380 pills of tramadol and exol-5. That same day, NDLEA officers in Yobe State arrested Halima Adamu with 39 parcels of Colorado (1.4kg) hidden in her bag. Her arrest led to the capture of her associate, Habiba Muhammad, in Maiduguri.
In Kano, operatives nabbed Aliyu Sani, 27, and Yahaya Tata, 26, with 30,030 tramadol pills. Meanwhile, in Lagos, weeks of intelligence-led surveillance by the NDLEA Special Operations Unit culminated in the arrest of two wanted drug kingpins: Victor Nwosa, 64, and Felix Chika Obiegbu, 49. Large quantities of heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine were recovered from their residences.
The crackdown extended to several other states:
Bayelsa: Three suspects caught with 12kg of skunk and 50 cartridges.
Ekiti: Ex-convict Femi Owoeye arrested with 32kg of skunk.
Kaduna: A suspect intercepted with 262.6kg of skunk inside a Honda Pilot jeep.
Gombe: 25-year-old Babangida Mohammed arrested with a consignment of methamphetamine.
Abuja: A 40-year-old suspect apprehended with 2.1kg of Colorado.
Edo: NDLEA operatives destroyed 24,146kg of cannabis cultivated on farmlands in Esan West and Igueben LGAs, and seized an additional 1,025kg concealed in a truck along the Wareke-Auchi road.
NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (Rtd.), praised officers across the states for their relentless efforts in the fight against drug trafficking.
“Every gram of these dangerous substances seized represents a step closer to shielding our youths from drug abuse, dismantling criminal supply chains, and safeguarding our national security,” Marwa stated.
