Nigeria: NDLEA Intercepts 12,385kg of ‘Loud’ Cannabis on Lagos Waterways

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the weekend intercepted 12,385 kilogrammes of loud cannabis from getting into Lagos, the commercial capital of the country.

According to a statement by the spokesman of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, loud cannabis is a strong variant of the illicit weed imported from a neighbouring country (which name was not revealed) and smuggled into Lagos through the waterways.

Babafemi said the operatives acted on credible intelligence that 12,385 pellets of loud cannabis were brought in from the particular West African country through the ocean and ferried with boats to the Eko Atlantic Beach, Victoria Island from where they would be distributed to drug hotspots such as Island, Peti Alagba and others across Lagos and other states.

He said on getting the intel over 50 narcotic officers stormed the beach on Saturday 27th November, 2021, and recovered the consignments along with two long trucks, a Toyota Sienna bus and arrested three suspects.

He said those arrested are Abdulkadri Zakari, 24; Ka’abu Sausu, 45 and Lawrence Adie, 27.

In another clampdown, a 70-year-old woman, Mrs. Beatrice Aigbedion was among suspects arrested in parts of Edo State in connection with the seizure of over 5,000 kilogrammes of assorted illicit drugs across the state.

Babafemi said after days of surveillance, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 24th November stormed a warehouse at Uhiere, Ovia North East Local Government Area of the state, where they recovered a total of 4,261.5 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa and a suspect, Ikong Stanley, was arrested.

He said on the previous day Tuesday 23rd November, 1,240 kilogrammes was equally seized at a warehouse in Uzebba, Owan West local government area of the state.

Babafemi said: “At the point of her arrest in Irrua last Wednesday, 70-year-old Mrs. Aigbedion was caught with different quantities of codeine cough syrup, Swinol and Rohypnol while another dealer, Joseph Onyemaechi, 50, was also nabbed
at Ikpoba Okha, Upper Sakponba- Benin City, on Friday with different types of psychotropic substances weighing 2.055 kilogrammes.”

He said similarly, Gabriel Akioya and Isa Salihu were arrested on Thursday 25th November at Irrua, Esan Central local government area with various quantities of Codeine, Tramadol, Swinol and Rohypnol.

In neighbouring Delta state, according to Babafemi, operatives raided Hampton Towers and Spa Hotel, Okpanam road, Asaba where Dobedient Etumudor and Thompson Chukwuemeka were arrested with different quantities of psychoactive substances, while another dealer, Emeka Ben was nabbed with 4.7 grammes of Methamphetamine along Asaba – Ibusa road.

He said other suspects arrested in Delta State on Thursday 25th November for dealing in meth, cannabis, cocaine, and heroin are Ifeanyi Odibe, Uche Onwurah, and Justice Obika.

Babafemi said up North In Kano State, a drug dealer, Alhaji Bukar Malan Abdu, was arrested and 143 kilogrammes of cannabis recovered from him while 466 kilogrammes of same drug was seized in the home of one Bashir Shuaibu, an indigene of Edo State but resident in Kano city, who deals in cannabis sativa.

The spokesman said on Thursday 25th November, a drug dealer in Maiduguri, Borno state, Chima Obi was arrested in a follow up operation following the seizure of his drug consignment, 73.2 kilogrammes codeine, at an NDLEA checkpoint in Postiskum, Yobe state same day.

The Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) in his reaction to the arrests and huge seizures in Lagos, Edo, Delta, Kano and Yobe states, commended the officers and men involved in the operations and urged them along with their compatriots in other commands not to rest on their oars.

He also charged them to always strive to record greater feats until the drug supply and drug demand reduction targets of the agency are fully achieved.

Michael Olugbode in Abuja