The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted cocaine consignments concealed inside a traditional local mortar and the false bottom of a backpack destined for China and Italy, as the agency intensified its nationwide offensive against drug trafficking networks.
The seizures were made on Thursday by operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) at a Lagos-based logistics company.
According to the NDLEA, officers recovered 250 grammes of cocaine factory-fitted into the base of a traditional mortar packaged for export to China, while another 500 grammes of cocaine was discovered concealed in a specially constructed false compartment of a backpack bound for Italy.
The interceptions formed part of a series of coordinated operations that led to major arrests and drug seizures across Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara states.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 38-year-old suspected drug dealer, Ugo Okonkwo, at Eagle Island in Port Harcourt following intelligence-led surveillance. Recovered from the suspect were quantities of cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, swinol, tramadol and codeine syrup.
In Anambra State, officers on stop-and-search duty at the DMGS Roundabout in Onitsha intercepted a truck with registration number XK 131 BDG carrying 26,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 3,960 kilogrammes. The driver, Chinedu Nwanze, 40, was arrested.
Similarly, operatives in Delta State intercepted a Toyota Sienna bus with registration number KUJ 26 DV along the Kwale-Ughelli Expressway, recovering 331.84 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in the vehicle.
In Nasarawa State, a 64-year-old suspect, Joseph Nwaeke, was arrested at Asso Angwan Muazu in Karu Local Government Area with 68 kilogrammes of skunk and 29 grammes of methamphetamine.
Meanwhile, in Zamfara State, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Zaria-Gusau Highway apprehended a 27-year-old suspect, Sani Umar, allegedly transporting 7,400 tablets of Tramadol 225mg believed to be intended for criminal and bandit groups operating in the region.
Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said the NDLEA also sustained its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through a series of sensitisation programmes.
He disclosed that drug abuse awareness campaigns were conducted for students and staff in schools across Kano, Oyo and Taraba states, while commercial drivers at the Challenge Bus Terminal in Ibadan also received anti-drug sensitisation.
Commending officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations and the commands in Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara states, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), praised their operational successes and urged them to sustain the agency’s twin strategy of aggressive drug law enforcement and preventive public education.
The latest operations highlight the increasingly sophisticated concealment methods employed by international drug trafficking syndicates and underscore the NDLEA’s determination to dismantle both domestic drug distribution networks and transnational smuggling routes.
