The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested three persons living with disabilities for alleged involvement in drug trafficking during coordinated operations across Anambra and Kwara states, while also uncovering a massive cannabis cache valued at over N5.8 billion in Lagos.
The agency disclosed the arrests and seizures on Sunday in a statement issued by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, describing the operations as part of intensified nationwide efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking and substance abuse.
According to the statement, a 60-year-old suspect, Romanus Nwabara, was arrested during an intelligence-led raid carried out on Wednesday in Akpaka Forest, Onitsha, Anambra State. Operatives reportedly recovered 250 grammes of skunk packaged in retail sachets from the suspect.
In another operation conducted in Ogbunike, also in Anambra State, NDLEA officers arrested 25-year-old Amos Kenneth with assorted illicit substances, including 160.3 grammes of Tramadol pills, 80 tablets of Diazepam, 38.23 grammes of Exol-5 and 176.93 grammes of skunk.
The agency further revealed that operatives on patrol along Bode Saadu in Kwara State intercepted a commercial vehicle on Friday and allegedly discovered 6.3 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in a brown school bag belonging to a passenger identified as Usman Salisu.
In what officials described as one of the agency’s largest seizures in recent months, operatives of the NDLEA Special Operations Unit raided a mansion in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, allegedly being used as a drug storage facility.
During the operation conducted on Friday, officers reportedly recovered 4,000 parcels of “Loud,” a potent imported strain of cannabis, weighing 2,326 kilogrammes and estimated to have a street value of over N5.815 billion.
The illicit substances were allegedly discovered at a property located on African Lane in Lekki Phase 1. The agency said two Mercedes-Benz buses and several designer packaging materials suspected to have been used for retail distribution were also recovered from the premises.
Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives arrested a 38-year-old suspect, Emmanuel Osita Okeke, with 129 kilogrammes of skunk in the Nyanya-Karu area of Nasarawa State.
Similarly, officers on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State intercepted a white commuter bus travelling to Abuja and recovered 76 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 766 kilogrammes.
Three suspects identified as Mathew Omohove, Ebuka Desmond and Babangida Musa were arrested in connection with the seizure.
The anti-narcotics agency also uncovered a makeshift “skuchies” production facility in the Ijora Badia area of Lagos during a raid conducted on Wednesday.
Two suspects, Bose Jamiu and Gbenga Gege, were reportedly arrested while allegedly mixing cannabis with other illicit substances.
According to the agency, operatives recovered 270 litres of already prepared skuchies — a cocktail of psychoactive substances increasingly associated with substance abuse among youths — as well as 106 grammes of Tramadol 225mg.
Beyond enforcement operations, the NDLEA said it continued its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign through awareness programmes in schools, communities and religious centres across several states, including Nasarawa, Ekiti, Enugu, Abia, Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Kano and Oyo.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations for sustaining the agency’s dual strategy of drug supply reduction and public sensitisation.
Marwa also urged commanders and operatives across the country to maintain the momentum in the ongoing fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
