•••• Uncovers Drugs in Chocolate Tins, Others
•••Seizes 942 Explosives in Kaduna
By Kamsi Anayo, Awka
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted no fewer than 3,500,000 pills of opioids and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrup with combined street value of over N3.4 billion in Port Harcourt, Rivers state and Lagos state.
Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters Abuja made the disclosure in a statement on Sunday.
He said that bulk of the seizures including two million pills of tafrodol 225mg and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrup, was made on April 29 during a joint examination of a watch-listed container by NDLEA officers, men of Customs Service and other security agencies at the Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne.
In Lagos, a total of 1,500,000 pills of a controlled opioid were recovered from a suspect, Olarenwaju Wahab, at the Alaba-Rago area of Ojo on April 29 while the source of the consignment was traced to Q104B Road 25, Victoria Garden City, Lekki, which is the residence of one Obinna Kenneth who is now at large.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos have intercepted 42 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 20kg, concealed in tins of chocolate, milo beverage, white kidney beans and dark red kidney beans packaged as part of cargos that came into the Lagos airport onboard a British Airways flight from Canada.
At least, three suspects including the receiver of the consignment, Monsurat Ewawunmi Lawson, have been arrested between April 30 and May 3.
In like manner, a businessman Bobby Morris Osas was on April 2 arrested at the Lagos airport while attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Italy.
A thorough search of his luggage led to the seizure of 8,130 pills of tramadol 225mg, 200mg and 100mg.
Attempt by another syndicate to ship 104grams of tramadol and skunk concealed in bottles of body cream to Iraq through a courier company in Lagos was also thwarted on April 28 by NDLEA officers.
In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Kaduna – Zaria expressway on May 3 intercepted a commercial vehicle coming from Nasarawa State heading to Zamfara State.
A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a total of Nine Hundred and Forty-Two (942) explosives concealed in a sack and the subsequent arrest of a 30-year-old suspect Nura Sani Muhammad (alias Nura Hariji).
