In continuation of crackdown on drug trafficking, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of a 43-year-old makeup artist, Adekoya Adebukonla Mary, who was allegedly travelling to India for fibroid surgery.
Adekoya was arrested on Monday, June 16, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport(MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, following credible intelligence, after 2.20 kilograms of cocaine were discovered in factory-fitted walls of her luggage.
Mr. Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, confirmed the arrest in a statement released to Persecondnews on Sunday in Abuja.
According to Femi, Adekoya was under surveillance and was allowed to check in her luggage before being arrested at the point of boarding her Qatar Airways flight to India via Doha.
Upon searching her luggage, two large parcels of cocaine weighing 2.20kg were discovered concealed within the walls of the suitcase.
In her statement, she claimed that she had embarked on the trip for financial gain, but under the pretext of travelling to India for surgery to remove a fibroid from her stomach.
Further investigation revealed that the suspect was recruited and funded by a drug baron currently at large, Akeem Ayinde Adekanbi, who owns Rockford Hotel in the Sango area of Ogun State, and resides at Igbe Laara in the Igbogbo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.
In another successful operation, NDLEA operatives from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted a shipment of sewn female dresses containing 1.3kg of ‘Loud’, a strong strain of cannabis, destined for Bahrain, at a courier company in Lagos on Thursday, June 19.
Meanwhile, the previous day, Wednesday, June 18, operatives uncovered 850g of cocaine concealed in cloth hangers at a different courier firm, with the shipment heading to Australia.
In Bauchi State, NDLEA officers, acting on credible intelligence, arrested two suspects, Ibrahim Galadima, 37, and Ibrahim Muhammed, 28, along the Bauchi-Darazo road on Monday, June 16.
A total of 1,013,000 pills of opioids, specifically tramadol, diazepam, and exol-5, were recovered from them.
Meanwhile, 38-year-old Bishir Isyaku was arrested on Tuesday, June 17, at Gwargwaje along the Kaduna-Zaria expressway, with 14.2kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, concealed in two sacks of charcoal and seven cartons of rubber solution weighing 198kg.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives in Abuja arrested Murtala Adamu, Ahmed Ismai’l, and four others during raid operations at Karu Abattoir and Torabora areas of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Wednesday, June 18.
Recovered from them were 6.9kg of skunk and 59g of methamphetamine.
In Kano, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Zaria-Kano road arrested Umar Hamisu, 19, and Dahiru Abdullahi, 32, with 56.2kg of skunk on Thursday, June 19.
On the same day, another suspect, Obiwuru Henry, 27, was arrested with 23,720 capsules of tramadol and 1,400 ampoules of pentazocine along Jaba Road, Fagge LGA.
Furthermore, on Saturday, June 21, Abubakar Modu, 60, was arrested with 36.6kg of skunk, and Abdulkadir Muhammed, 28, was arrested with 32kg of the same substance along the Zaria-Kano road.
A 22-year-old student at Kwara State Polytechnic, Olotin Nifemi, notorious for selling illicit substances to fellow students, was arrested on Thursday, June 19, at her base along Kwara Poly Road, Ilorin, with 1kg of skunk.
4,226.11kg of skunk was destroyed at Ugbada camp, Uzebba forest, Owan West LGA, Edo State, after NDLEA operatives raided the camp to destroy cannabis farms on Friday, June 20. A suspect, Albert Shamaki, 33, was nabbed during the operation.
On Thursday, June 19, operatives raided the Big Jamaya supermarket in the Emado community, Esan West LGA, where a suspect, Esther Abumere, 28, was arrested, and various illicit drugs were recovered.
The seized substances included Colorado, Loud, Molly, tramadol, and other opioids.
In a separate operation, a raid on a provision shop at Idumeka, Igueben, resulted in the seizure of 1.143kg of skunk and the arrest of a female suspect, Eko Gift, 38.
The War Against Drug Abuse(WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands also continued nationwide over the past week.
Notable events included WADA sensitisation lectures at several schools, including Government Day Arabic Secondary School in Guri, Jigawa; Government College in Lafia, Nasarawa; Atodo Secondary School in Ankpa, Kogi; Natsugunne Junior Secondary School in Jabba, Kano; and Shallom Academy in Ibagwa, Enugu.
Additionally, the Osun State Command of the NDLEA made a WADA advocacy visit to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, at his palace in Ile-Ife.
The NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Retired Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the MMIA, DOGI, and the Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Edo, and FCT Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures made in 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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