Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have uncovered an expansive warehouse stocked with a large consignment of codeine-based syrup, located at Comfort Oboh area of Kirikiri, Lagos State, where four persons connected with the importation and distribution of the opioid were arrested during an intelligence-led raid on the facility.
The Director of Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, revealed this in a statement he issued on Sunday.
- Forcefully retired police officers sue IGP, PSC, others
- EFCC to LG Bosses: Financial autonomy not opportunity to embezzle
- US: Our Air Force will target terrorists across Africa
- Mbappe hat-trick help Real Madrid sink Manchester City
- Katsina State Hisbah bans nightclubs
According to Babafemi, those arrested were Kingsley Amanambu Obumneke, 38; Emeka Emmanuel, 48; Bornaventure Ugochukwu, 59; and Martin Dike, 56, while a total of 82,000 bottles of the opioid worth more than N600 million in street value, a Toyota Tacuma truck and two buses used for distributing the substance were recovered from the premises on June 10, 2024 when NDLEA officers conducted the operation.
Two days later, operatives intercepted another suspect, Ibrahim Abdulhamid, with 29,100 pills of tramadol and other opioids as well as 3.9 litres of codeine syrup at Alaba Suru, Ojo Local Government Area of the state.
A total of 230,600 pills of tramadol 225mg and 200mg were recovered from the duo of Yasir Rabi’u, 23, and Abubakar Ado, 30, who are major distributors of illicit drugs in Kano and Jigawa States, when they were arrested on June 10, 2024 at Gadar Tamburawa area of Kano.
In the same vein, another suspect, Hassan Abdullahi Ali, 25, was nabbed with 150 bottles of codeine syrup at Kofar Nassarawa area of Kano on June 11.
In Ogun State, NDLEA operatives on June 10 seized 390kg of cannabis and arrested the trio of Muhammad Sani, Nura Mohammad and Samaila Rabe during an early morning raid at Ibese area of the state, while officers on June 12 bursted a skuchies making factory at Sabo area of Sagamu town, where seven suspects were arrested.
Those arrested were Kareem Jamiu, Oriyimi Ayo, Bamidele Wasiu, Rasheed Olarewanju, Ramota Lawal, Amudalat Olarewanju and Adeniyi Omotosho.
Exhibits recovered from them included 387 litres of skuchies, 70 litres of industrial codeine, 25kg cannabis and different quantities of tramadol, rophynol, diazepam, as well as various equipment used in the production of the new psychoactive substance.
Not less than 10,534.78 kilograms of cannabis were destroyed on 4.213912 hectares of farmland on June 12 when NDLEA officers raided Uhen forest in Ovia North East LGA of Edo State, where four suspects: Frank Ishoku, 38; Clifford Ossai, 49; Vanger Timothy, 30; and John Peter Oluwaseyi, 30, were nabbed and 16kg processed cannabis was recovered for the purpose of prosecution.
In a similar development, 18,425kg of the same psychoactive substance on 7.37 hectares of farmland was destroyed by NDLEA operatives supported by personnel of other security agencies in the thick forest of Ise Ekiti, Ekiti State on June 14.
In Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, two suspects: Muhammad Abba, 33, and Samson Ehizogie, 42, were arrested with 3,550 bottles of Akuskura, a new mixture of psychotropic substances, by operatives during a raid on June 14 at Garki Area 10 and Dutse Suokale, both within the FCT.
While Emmanuel Ogechi, 24, was nabbed with 11,200 pills of tramadol on June 12 along Otukpo-Enugu Road by NDLEA operatives in Benue State, Anayo Onwe, 40, was arrested with 62.4kg cannabis sativa at Nteje, just as 1kg of methamphetamine belonging to a fleeing suspect in Oraifite, both in Anambra State, was seized.
In Kwara State, Muhammed Musa, 24, was arrested with 33kg cannabis at Bode-Saadu, Jebba, while Shokuro Adeola, 59, was nabbed with 11.5kg of the same substance along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Oyo State.
With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation activities to schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities among others in the past week.
These included WADA enlightenment lecture for students and teachers of Mind Builder College, Oyo town, Oyo State; students of Demonstration Secondary School, Kabba, Kogi State; students of Government Secondary School, Bunkure, Kano State; students of Command Day Secondary School, Ede, Osun State; students and teachers of Khulafau-Rashideen Islamic School, Babanna, Niger State; and students of Aggrey Memorial Modern School, Arochukwu, Abia State.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
