By Omoyeni Ojeifo
From a prayer session in Lagos to a failed cocaine smuggling attempt, a 34-year-old Ugandan woman has landed in the custody of the NDLEA after 87 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.15kg were discovered strapped around her pelvic region at the Lagos airport.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted Ms. Farida Nansubuga at the screening point of Terminal 2, Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, November 3, during a joint passenger screening exercise with aviation security personnel.
Mr Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, provided details of the arrests and seizures in a statement given to Persecondnews on Sunday.
Nabsubuga was preparing to board an Ugandan airline flight to her home country when operatives detected a suspicious substance concealed around her pelvic region.
A subsequent search in a designated private room led to the recovery of 87 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.150kg, strapped around her pelvic region and held in place beneath two layers of underwear.
During preliminary interrogation, she disclosed that she arrived in Nigeria on October 29 with members of her church for a prayer session at The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos.
She told investigators that after the prayer session, the other members of her delegation returned to Uganda, while she stayed behind to collect the illicit consignment on behalf of a friend, identified only as Joy, who resides in Uganda.
According to her, Joy directed her to a contact in Nigeria, who arranged a vehicle to convey her to a hotel on the morning of her scheduled departure.
She said the man handed her the cocaine at the hotel and instructed her to conceal it beneath her clothing to evade airport security screening.
Although no definite payment was agreed, Nansubuga claimed she expected to receive at least $1,000 upon successful delivery of the consignment.
In a seperate interdiction at the Lagos AirPort, NDLEA operatives on Friday, November 6, uncovered 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 526kg and valued at N900 million, in a consignment from India declared as Paracetamol Tablets 500mg.
The consignment, comprising 11 cartons packed in two wooden structures, arrived at the airport’s import shed on Tuesday, November 3, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Ahmedabad, India.
Following suspicions over the cargo declaration, NDLEA officers kept the consignment under surveillance before carrying out a joint examination with the Nigeria Customs Service and other sister agencies on Friday.
The examination revealed that the opioid tablets were concealed in 10 of the 11 cartons, while only the last carton contained paracetamol tablets used as cover.
Similarly. at the airport’s import shed, operatives of the NDLEA, on Wednesday, November 4, uncovered 32 parcels of Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 16.15kg, concealed inside two wooden sofas in a consolidated cargo from Houston, Texas, United States.
Ibrahim Abdulwaheed Adewale, a freight agent who came forward to clear the consignment, was arrested after it arrived aboard a Turkish Airlines flight.
In a follow-up operation on Friday, November 6, a 34-year-old caterer from Ibadan, Oyo State, Adeoye Sarafa Ojo, who came to collect the package, was arrested.
Adeoye claimed he had been sent by a friend, Taiwo Anuoluwapo Olusegun.
In another crackdown, NDLEA operatives dismantled a syndicate importing chemicals used in the production of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, from the United Kingdom following the interception of nine parcels of illicit substances concealed in two cartons of snacks labelled “Michael Tea Guy”.
The consolidated cargo arrived aboard an Air Peace flight from the UK on Friday, October 23.
Two of the parcels contained 1.20kg of cannabis, while forensic analysis confirmed that the remaining seven contained chemicals used in producing synthetic cannabis.
A 51-year-old freight agent, Afolabi Abiodun Wale, who came to clear the consignment, was arrested.
Two additional cartons addressed to the same recipient subsequently arrived from the UK aboard an Allied Air flight.
A sting operation conducted between Monday, October 26, and Wednesday, October 28, led to the arrest of Okwuite Benjamin Ojone, 51, when he took delivery of the four cartons.
A search of the two additional cartons uncovered three parcels weighing 3.30kg concealed in two packs of detergent, alongside 11 plastic bottles containing mostly liquid substances weighing 16.25kg.
The seizures brought the total recovery from the operation to 1.20kg of cannabis and 28.65kg of chemicals used in producing synthetic cannabis.
Beyond the airport operations, NDLEA operatives intercepted 46 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.2kg in two cartons destined for the United Kingdom at courier companies in Lagos on Tuesday, November 3.
The agency also intercepted 296 tablets of Swinol destined for Australia and three tramadol shipments heading to the UK. The shipments comprised 20 capsules from Benin City, 96 capsules from Sapele, Delta State, and 600 tablets of Tramadol 225mg from Asaba, concealed in vitamin C containers and female headwear.
In another Lagos operation on Friday, November 6, operatives arrested a 32-year-old man, Abubakar Ali, at Marine Beach, Apapa, where they recovered 1.06kg of Tramadol 250mg, 1.27kg of Tramadol 225mg, 400g of pregabalin capsules, 355g of diazepam, 200ml of codeine and 6.07kg of cannabis from a small store inside his apartment.
Across Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Taraba, Enugu and Delta states, NDLEA operatives also recovered large quantities of cannabis and other illicit substances.
The seizures included 1,818kg of cannabis from 148 bags at Odofin Road, Uso, Ondo State; 242kg recovered from a destroyed one-hectare plantation in Board Forest, Ondo; 216kg in Ekiti; 201kg along Auchi-Ibillo Road in Edo; and 226.255kg in Taraba.
In Enugu, officers recovered 22.5kg of cannabis, 24,000 capsules of Tramadol weighing 13.4kg and 697g of ketamine, while Delta operations yielded 10.54kg of skunk, 9.4kg of cannabis seeds and 4.3g of methamphetamine, alongside other drugs.
Several suspects were arrested in the operations, including Itoro Linus Akpan, 36, in Ondo; Agbo Paul Peter, 53, in Ekiti; Abdulmumid Isah, 39, and Danako Godwin, 25, in Edo; Ibrahim Abdullahi, 45, Kabiru Usman, 25, and Babangida Babayo, 32, in Taraba; and Celestine Uzochukwu Ejiakor, 57, and Godwin Shaapera, 40, in Enugu.
Meanwhile, NDLEA commands and formations across the country sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
While commending officers and personnel of the commands for the seizures and arrests, NDLEA Chairman/ CEO, retired Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa described the Ugandan woman’s arrest as a reminder of the lengths drug cartels would go to recruit couriers.
Marwa warned that drug cartels were exploiting even religious journeys and faith-based activities to recruit couriers for their illicit trade.
He urged officers across all commands to sustain the tempo of their supply and demand reduction efforts.
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