In a major blow to international drug trafficking, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has intercepted Liang Tak You, a Chinese businessman, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
Liang, a Malaysian-naturalized Chinese national, arrived in Nigeria on an Emirates Airline flight from Bangkok via Dubai and arrested on Friday, July 25.
He was found to be in possession of 26.10kg of “Loud,” a potent cannabis strain, which he had collected in Thailand.
According to a statement released on Sunday by Mr. Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, emailed to Persecondnews, NDLEA operatives had been tracking Liang’s movements from his point of departure.
They allowed him to complete all arrival protocols at the Lagos airport before apprehending him as he was exiting the terminal.
The statement reads: “In a separate operation, the agency apprehended an 80-year-old grandmother, Mrs Grace Ekpeme, at Edet-Nsa Street, Base Site, Calabar South, Cross River State, with over 3kg of skunk in the early hours of Saturday, July 26, following intelligence gathered on her drug-dealing activities.
“In Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a suspect, Chidi Agbafo, along the Epe-Ajah Expressway on Wednesday, July 23, while he was transporting consignments of 21.7kg of Colorado, some of which were packaged in moimoi cooking sachets, and 3.8 litres of codeine-based syrup in a commercial bus destined for delivery in Warri and Oghara, Delta State.
“At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, a total of 101kg of Canadian Loud, factory-packed in 202 tins of imported food items labelled ‘Bean Salad Mix’ and concealed in two Toyota Sienna buses within a container shipped from Canada, were recovered.
“The discovery was made during a joint examination of the container by NDLEA officers, men of Customs Service and other security agencies on Friday July 25.
“NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna highway on Wednesday, July 23, recovered no fewer than 71,000 pills of tramadol, diazepam, and Exol-5 from Usman Musa. The suspect was travelling with the consignment of opioids in a commercial bus bound for Kano when he was intercepted.
“In Borno, a 30-year-old woman, Binta Usman, was arrested by NDLEA officers on Wednesday, July 23, after they recovered 30.1kg of skunk from her house in the Muna Moforo area of Maiduguri. A subsequent operation led to the arrest of her accomplice, Bala Abdullahi, in the same area of the Borno state capital on Friday, July 25.
“Three brothers, Nanna Ozirinye, Chizom Ozirinye, and Maxwell Ozirinye, were arrested on Saturday, July 26, when NDLEA operatives raided a cannabis plantation in the Bending Corner Forest, Idoani, Ose Local Council Area of Ondo State. During the operation, 2,500 kilograms of skunk cultivated on one hectare of land were destroyed, and 121.4kg of the already processed psychoactive substance were recovered.”
It also started: “In Edo State, NDLEA officers raided the Asakpa community in Benin City on Wednesday, July 23, where they arrested a 26-year-old woman, Bright Sunday Okon, and recovered various quantities of Colorado, Loud, Arizona, and skunk, all strains of cannabis, as well as methamphetamine.
“In Nasarawa State, NDLEA operatives recovered a total of 105.4kg of skunk from an abandoned Honda car marked ABC 204 KM in Keffi. Meanwhile, in Niger State, their counterparts arrested a suspect, Bashir Abdullahi, with 6,400 pills of tramadol 225mg at the Kasuwan Gwari area of Minna on Monday, July 21.
“Separately, a notorious drug dealer, Jamiu Omolaja, was taken into custody and 113kg of skunk was retrieved from his enclave in Ifo, Ogun State, on Thursday, July 24, following a violent resistance and attack on NDLEA operatives by members of his gang.
“A total of 10,910 capsules of tramadol were seized from a suspect, Adamu Adamu (also known as Dankyado), by NDLEA officers on patrol along the Gombe-Bajoga road in Gombe State on Saturday, July 26.
“Meanwhile, in Kogi State, operatives intercepted a consignment of skunk concealed inside garri, dried scent leaves, and other food items along the Okene-Lokoja highway on Thursday, July 24.
“A follow-up operation in Abuja resulted in the arrest of 27-year-old Kindness Bala, who was planning to travel to Katsina State with the consignment and subsequently to Qatar.
“Meanwhile, in Kogi State, operatives recovered 23,600 pills of tramadol, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection, and 700 grams of skunk from a truck at a motor park in the Ayingba area on Saturday, July 26.”
The War Against Drug Abuse(WADA), social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands equally continued across the country in the past week.
Some of the activities included WADA sensitisation lectures delivered to students and staff at Komu/Babaode High School, Babaode, Itesiwaju Local Government Area, Oyo State; Beacon Christian Academy, Ngodo, Afikpo Local Government Area, Ebonyi State; Government Day Secondary School, Araba, Illela, Sokoto State; and Government Junior College, Agege, Lagos.
Additionally, the Anambra State command of the NDLEA conducted WADA advocacy visits to the traditional rulers of Awka community, Obi Gibson Nwosu, Ezeuzu II, and Ukpo community, Igwe Robert Eze, Okofia VI, among others.
The NDLEA Chairman/CEO, retired Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the MMIA, Apapa, Lagos, Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Nasarawa, Borno, Niger, Ogun, Gombe, Kaduna and Kogi Commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week.
He also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
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