NDLEA arrests wanted kingpin attempting to ship illicit drugs to UK

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a kingpin wanted for attempts to ship illicit drug consignments to the United Kingdom.

This tops the list of arrests made by NDLEA operatives through interdiction operations that led to the seizure of four tons of illicit substances in the past week.

A statement by the NDLEA spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in Abuja, said that the suspect, Obiorah Chigozie, had been on the wanted list of the agency since Sept. 15.

This, he said, was when a consignment of 1.500kg skunk concealed in flour going to London, UK was intercepted at the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) export shed of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos.

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Babafemi said that his freight agent, Nworah Adaugo Precious, was arrested.

“Convinced that the 1.500kg consignment had sailed through, Chigozie walked into the agency’s dragnet on Sept. 28 when he personally brought another tranche of 2.00kg concealed in cartons to the airport for shipment to the UK.

“In his interview, Chigozie claimed he was into shoe sales in Lagos before venturing into the illicit drug business,” he said.

Meanwhile, operatives of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT command of the agency on Sept. 29, intercepted a container truck with registration number BD G41 XM coming from Lagos to Kano at the Gwagwalada area of the FCT.

Also, Babafemi said that no less than 1,188 kilograms of skunk loaded at Owo, Ondo state, and hidden under cartons of toothpaste were recovered from the truck and its driver, Amafan Fattison, 28, was arrested.

Similarly, NDLEA officers in Bayelsa on Sept. 27, seized 432kgs of the same substance from an abandoned J5 bus along Saipem road, Opolo, Yenagoa.

Babafemi said the vehicle was equally recovered from the scene for further investigation.

In Kano, Ado Unguwa, 70, was arrested on Saturday, Sept. 30 with a 143.2kgs skunk in Dindere village, Tofa LGA.

Babafemi said that operatives in Enugu the same day recovered 110.6kgs of the same substance from a locked-up shop at Aria new market.

He added that operatives in Lagos also on Saturday, Sept. 30, stormed the notorious Idi-Oro drug enclave in Mushin where they seized 212.5kgs of cannabis sativa belonging to a wanted drug lord.

This was even as NDLEA officers in Kwara recovered 104kgs of skunk from a Toyota Camry car in the Offa area of the state.

Babafemi said that a Chadian, Mohammed Ibrahim, 25, was also nabbed at Mafa checkpoint, Borno with 11.8kgs of the same substance on Monday, Sept. 25.

“In Plateau, the police command in the spirit of inter-agency collaboration transferred four suspects: Yusuf Akim; Frank Gah; Jackson Ejeh and Joseph Utsu.

“1,978kgs cannabis was recovered from them to the state command of NDLEA, while in Cross River, operatives on Monday, Sept. 25 seized 40,000 ampules of pentazocine injection.

”Two suspects, Fajulugbe Adeshola, 35, and Nnaorji Agwe, 54, at Mobil by MCC road, Calabar were arrested.

“Also in Kogi, NDLEA officers on Wednesday, Sept. 27 arrested a suspect, Ifeanyi Odoh, 25, with 59,867 pills of opioids including Tramadol and 4.03kgs cannabis sativa at Idah area of the state,” he said. (NAN)