Following a tip-off that led to a seven-hour raid on an apartment at Ayobo, a Lagos suburb, the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency has made a single highest seizure of cannabis in five years.
The street value of the seizure was put at N15 million, considered to be the biggest in recent times..
The State Commander, NDLEA, Ralph Igwenagu, who spoke to journalists at the NDLEA Lagos Airport Command after the parade of one of the syndicate members, Achienu Promise, said his men stormed a warehouse and a residential building where over 5,371.111kg of cannabis was stored after a tip-off from a concerned Nigerian.
Igwenagu explained that the NDLEA had been doing a lot to trace the syndicates because of their notoriety for bringing drugs from Osun, Edo and Ondo States to Lagos, adding that they were able to make the seizure and arrest one of the members of syndicate, stressing that others are still on the run.
His words: “We are hopeful that in no distant time, they too will be arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.
“I said earlier that based on information, our officers raided a notorious syndicate somewhere in Ayobo, Lagos State and made this very monumental seizure. We are hopeful that in no distant time, they too will be arrested.
“This is the biggest single seizure that we have done in the last five years.
“The total quantity of drugs involved is over five tones at one particular time, at exactly 5,371kg at one single seizure.
“We have made very big seizures in the past but not in this mode at one particular time and that shows the level of drugs that can come into Lagos State and we are particularly happy that we are able to remove this out of circulation and it will save a lot of Nigerians, especially Lagosians on the dangers of drug use.”
Igwenafu said despite the apparent low level of security presence, the NDLEA are working to ensure that every criminal element who wants to use the period to perpetrate crimes would be arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.
Explaining how he came about the huge drugs in his possession, Promise said he was called by the owners of the drugs to urgently go to Ikire, Osun State to carry some cargo.
He disclosed that they did not tell him what he was to carry until he got to the place in his truck, which had a false compartment to carry the many sacks of cannabis.
.”When I got there, that was when I discovered that it was cannabis they wanted me to carry. I had no option not to do it because I had no money to buy diesel to go back. I begged them to give money to buy diesel, they refused and said I must carry the cannabis,” he said.
Asked if he knew he was carrying contraband goods, to which he said he knew nothing about.
He said: “It was when I got there that I discovered that it was cannabis.
“I had no money on me, so I had to carry it.
“I am working for somebody.
“I am not the owner of the truck.
“I called the owner of the vehicle that diesel had finished and needed money to go back but he refused to send money to me.”
Promise said it was his first time in engaging in ferrying of cannabis, noting that the house in Ayobo that NDLEA raided to seize cannabis does not belong to him.
He added: “It is the place I was directed to offload the drugs.
“It is a store.
“I am 47 years from Delta State and my name is Achienu Promise.
“They promised to pay me N50,000 but they just paid me N15,000 to buy diesel.
“They promised to give me the balance.”
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