Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended Egwu Inya, a self-identified building engineer, for attempting to retrieve illicit drugs concealed in imported pressure machines.
The 42-year-old suspect was arrested at Okeyson Motor Park in Enugu after claiming consignments containing 7.4 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis.
The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, revealed on Sunday that the machines had arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos on November 29, 2024. Acting on intelligence, the NDLEA monitored the consignment’s journey through clearing processes and intercepted it during a follow-up operation in Enugu when Inya attempted collection.
In another operation, NDLEA officers in Adamawa recovered 511,000 tramadol pills from a Siena vehicle abandoned by fleeing occupants on the Hildi-Askira Uba route last Friday.
Similar successes were recorded in Ekiti, where two suspects, Olanrewaju Alale, 48, and Babatunde Ijadahun, 55, were intercepted on the Ise-Emure road with 1,323 kilograms of cannabis. In Oyo, Adekunle Yusuf, 33, was caught transporting 704 kilograms of cannabis concealed in white sacks.
In Lagos, the agency arrested 65-year-old grandmother Ramata Adeyemo at Odunfa Street, Lagos Island, recovering 20.6 liters of codeine syrup. Another suspect, Alhaji Lawan Manga, was detained in Ikeja with 4.7 kilograms of cannabis and 1.3 kilograms of tramadol.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd.), commended the agency’s officers for their dedication to the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA). He highlighted the importance of the agency’s dual approach to combating drug trafficking through supply reduction and demand education.
