The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted consignments of cocaine and opioids concealed in export cartons destined for the United Kingdom and Australia as part of intensified nationwide operations against drug trafficking and abuse.
The seizures were made by NDLEA operatives at a courier facility in Lagos during the inspection of outbound cargo shipments on Friday.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, officers uncovered 170 grammes of cocaine carefully wrapped in cellophane and hidden within the walls of a carton containing clothes meant for Australia.
In another consignment bound for the United Kingdom, operatives recovered 200 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 1,100 capsules of tramadol, and 100 ampoules of promethazine injection concealed inside a carton.
The anti-narcotics agency also recorded significant breakthroughs in Delta State, where operatives, supported by military personnel, raided forests and cannabis plantations in separate operations.
At Ejeonu village in Ukwuani Local Government Area, officers destroyed 27,500 kilogrammes of skunk cultivated on 11 hectares of farmland and recovered an additional 22.9 kilogrammes of the illicit substance. A 52-year-old suspect, Ifeanyichukwu Peter, was later arrested during a follow-up operation in Obiaruku.
In a similar operation at Orogun village in Ughelli North Local Government Area, operatives destroyed another 37,500 kilogrammes of skunk cultivated on 15 hectares of farmland and recovered 55.4 kilogrammes of the drug. Thirty-year-old Godwin Vincent Osadera was arrested in connection with the raid.
The agency said both operations led to the destruction of a combined 65,000 kilogrammes of skunk.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives arrested 42-year-old Husaini Suleiman after recovering 361 kilogrammes of skunk during a raid in the Dan Magaji area of Zaria.
Along the Abuja-Kaduna highway, officers intercepted 1,989 rounds of 7.62mm RLA ammunition concealed inside sacks of garri. The suspect, identified as 35-year-old Abdullahi Hassan, was arrested while transporting the ammunition.
NDLEA disclosed that the suspect and the recovered ammunition had been handed over to another security agency for further investigation.
In the Federal Capital Territory, operatives arrested a 29-year-old businessman, Ogadi Peter, allegedly involved in producing drug-laced cakes and cookies for social events.
The suspect was apprehended at his residence in the Life Camp area of Abuja following intelligence reports. Officers recovered 800 grammes of skunk and 2.7 kilogrammes of drug-infused cookies from the premises.
Elsewhere, operatives in Ogun State recovered 181 kilogrammes of skunk from a suspect, Aliyu Sani, during a raid in the Ogere area.
In Taraba State, 27-year-old Sufiyanu Mohammed Misa was arrested along the Zaki-Biam road in Wukari Local Government Area with 105,850 pills of opioids, including tramadol, diazepam, and exol-5.
Two suspects, Adeleke Aliyah, 20, and Aloba Abdulazeez, 25, were also arrested in Saki, Oyo State, over the seizure of 99 litres of “skuchies,” a cocktail of illicit substances.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Edo State destroyed 1,388.4 kilogrammes of skunk on two farms during a raid on Ago forest in Orhionmwon Local Government Area.
In Kano State, officers recovered 1.2 kilogrammes of tramaking 225mg pills concealed in a 25-litre jerry can of palm oil at Kofar Ruwa motor park, while another suspect, Aminu Isa, was arrested with 30.5 kilogrammes of skunk in the Sabuwar Sharada area.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency said its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign continued nationwide with awareness lectures conducted in schools across Oyo, Niger, Lagos, Katsina, Ekiti, and Kano states.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations across Delta, Kaduna, Oyo, Taraba, Kano, the FCT, and Edo states.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to balancing efforts aimed at reducing drug supply with sustained drug demand reduction campaigns across the country.
