Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 22-year-old Amaka Ogonachukwu for attempting to smuggle wraps of cocaine concealed in cooked white rice for her boyfriend, Monday Imagbebenikaro, 40, in the custody of the Edo State Command of the agency.
Spokesman for the agency, Femi Babafemi, said on Sunday in Abuja that Imagbebenikaro was arrested earlier along Airport Road, Benin City, Oredo Local Government Area (LGA), for dealing in crack cocaine, Indian hemp and Danabel (Anabolic steroids).
He also said that the NDLEA operatives seized 8,381,600 capsules and tablets of Tramadol as well as 56,782 bottles of codeine among others in major raids in Lagos.
Babafemi said that ahead of the Christmas celebration, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Retd) had ordered sustained surveillance on some targets at satellite town and Alaba Rago areas of Lagos.
He said the satellite town was raided on Thursday, December 23, when a drug kingpin, Ezekiel Ibe was arrested and over five tons of high milligrams Tramadol; 225mg and 100mg recovered from his warehouse.
“A breakdown of the seized drug shows 7,991,600 Tramadol tablets and 390,000 capsules of same weighing 5,468.894kgs,” he said.
He further said in another raid on Monday, December 20, following surveillance in a notorious neighbourhood at Alaba Rago, Alaba area of Lagos, one Surajo Mohammed was arrested with 941.14kgs cannabis while 56,782 bottles of codeine were seized from the store of another drug lord still at large.
According to him, an outbound passenger to Italy on a Turkish Airline, Ovire Cyril, was arrested with 114 wraps of heroin with a gross weight of 1.80kg during a routine search at Gate “C’ Departure Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
“The drugs were concealed inside the pockets of four jean trousers, packed in a black suitcase.
“The suspect who confessed that he was pushed into the crime by hardship after he lost his Job, claimed he was promised €5,000.00 if he successfully delivers the consignment in Italy.
The same day, during outward clearance of Ethiopian Airline passengers’ luggage at the same gate, a male passenger, Osakue Evbuomwan, travelling to Milan, Italy was arrested with 1.55kg of Tramadol concealed in a ‘Ghana must go’ bag,” Babafemi added.
