A Vietnam-bound businessman, Paul Mbadugha, was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after he tested positive for ingesting cocaine. The 54-year-old suspect was intercepted at the boarding gate during the outward clearance for Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam, via Doha.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Mbadugha excreted a total of 88 wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.71 kilograms, after four days under observation. Mbadugha, a Lagos-based businessman, confessed that he had been given the cocaine pellets by a friend in the Isolo area of Lagos for delivery in Vietnam in exchange for $2,000.
In a related operation, NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos intercepted 800 grams of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, hidden in a shipment of noodles bound for Congo. A follow-up operation at the Alaba International Market in Ojo, Lagos, led to the arrest of Nnamani Sunday, the sender of the consignment, who is involved in GSM handset sales.
Further, NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport recovered a large consignment of Loud imported from Canada. Desalu Temitope, a suspect who arrived on an Air France flight with six boxes, was arrested during a joint examination by security agencies at the arrival hall. Four of the six suitcases were found to contain 65.8 kilograms of the psychoactive substance. Desalu disclosed that he and an accomplice, still at large, were promised $10,000 for successfully delivering the shipment in Lagos.
Babafemi also reported that NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Rivers State recovered 892,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup valued at N6.25 billion during a joint examination with Nigeria Customs and other stakeholders. The opioid, packed in 5,337 cartons with a gross weight of 133,860 kilograms, was shipped from India in five containers.
In another operation, NDLEA officers, supported by the Nigerian Army and community youths, raided the Ise forest reserve in Ekiti State, destroying 21,800 kilograms of cannabis sativa cultivated on 20 hectares of farmland.
Additional seizures and arrests across the country included 200.2 kilograms of cannabis from a vehicle in Enugu, large quantities of tramadol and pentazocine injections in Kano, Ogun, and Abuja, and the arrest of several suspects involved in drug trafficking.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of the various commands involved for their efforts in these operations and their continued advocacy through the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign.
