Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have thwarted attempts by drug syndicates to export large consignments of cocaine, methamphetamine and opioids through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja to the United Kingdom, Italy, Turkey and Qatar.
This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, in Abuja.
He said the NDLEA operatives, in a series of intelligence-led operations, recovered the illicit drugs and arrested the masterminds.
“A total of 13 parcels of cocaine weighing 4.40kgs going to the United Kingdom via Frankfurt on a Lufthansa Airlines flight were intercepted by NDLEA officers at the export shed of the Lagos airport on 5th November 2024 while a businessman linked to the consignment, Ekeocha Anayo Nelson, was tracked and arrested on 8th November,” Babafemi said.
He also said the attempt by another businessman, Adegbite Solomon (aka Obama), to export 7,800 pills of tramadol, 180 tablets of rohypnol, and 60 bottles of codeine to Italy was foiled at the departure hall of the Lagos airport on Monday 11th November when NDLEA operatives arrested him after recovering the opioids concealed in food and other items while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Italy.
The suspect claimed to have travelled to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea and earned a living as a street beggar before delving into logistics business.
Also related is the arrest of another businessman, Anoke Kingsley Roomy, with 1,100 pills of tramadol 225mg hidden in his luggage while attempting to board his Ethiopian Airlines flight going to Istanbul, Turkey, at the Terminal 1 of the Lagos airport on Friday 15th November.
Meanwhile, following credible intelligence, NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) and their counterparts from the FCT Command of the agency on Friday 15th November raided a hotel room at the Federal Housing Authority estate, Lugbe, Abuja, where they arrested two suspects: Omeh Uchenna Jude, 36, and Anene Valentine Chigozie, 34.
Recovered from them was 1.8kg methamphetamine, which they were preparing to travel with to Qatar.
Another suspect, Akande Moruf Olasunkanmi, was arrested with 1.8kg methamphetamine by operatives of a Special Operations Unit in NDLEA at his 9 Durojaiye Street, Lawanson area of Surulere, Lagos home after weeks of intelligence and surveillance.
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