The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested three sexagenarian grandfathers and a Nigerien concerning the seizure of over 52.252 kilogrammes of cocaine, methamphetamine and skunk.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said the agency seized 32,590 pills of opioids in Lagos, Kwara, Plateau, Sokoto, and two courier companies.
He said a man on the NDLEA watchlist, Benjamin Chimaobi, who frequents Cameroun, Ethiopia and Uganda, was arrested on February 18 at Victory Estate, Iba, Ojo area of Lagos.
He said the suspect was arrested in connection with the seizure of a 19.70kgs cocaine abandoned on an Ethiopian airline flight that arrived at Lagos airport on Thursday, February 9.
According to him, Mr Chimaobi had travelled to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to pick up the consignment.
“He claimed it was handed over to him in a black backpack bag on the plane in Addis Ababa but failed to disembark with it on arrival in Lagos.
“While the agency continues to investigate the flight crew members, relevant intelligence and investigative tools were deployed to identify the passenger who brought the consignment to Nigeria.”
Mr Babafemi said Mr Chimaobi was eventually unravelled and traced to Victory Estate, Iba, where he was arrested.
He added that operatives on February 23 intercepted an intending passenger on a Turkish Airline flight to Torino via Milan, Italy, at the departure hall of Lagos airport.
The suspect, Obazee Timothy Eguagie, was arrested with various quantities of opioids consisting of 22,840 tablets of Tramadol 225mg weighing 10.60 kg.
“Others include 1000 tablets of Tramadol 200mg with a gross weight of 600 grams; 2, 300 capsules of Tramadol 100mg weighing 800 grams and 60 tablets of Rohypnol 1mg, weighing 19 grams.”
Mr Babafemi said the drugs were concealed inside cloths and wrapped with black tapes.
He also said the NDLEA operatives attached to Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) import shed of the airport on February 24 intercepted eight cartons of shoes from Los Angeles, United States.
Mr Babafemi said a diligent examination of the cargo showed the shoes were used to conceal 37 parcels of a Loud variant of Cannabis with a gross weight of 20.10 kilogrammes.
He said a 63-year-old grandfather, Balogun Akinlabi, hired as a freight agent to clear the illicit consignment, has already been arrested.
“Two other sexagenarians arrested in connection with drug trafficking include Butven Siman, 62, who was nabbed with 5.5kgs skunk on Friday, February 17, at Timbol village, Langtang South LGA, Plateau.
“Also, 65-year-old Musa Shuaib was arrested with a kilogramme of cannabis on Thursday, February 23, in the Adewole area of Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.”
Mr Babafemi said operatives of NDLEA in Lagos also recovered a total of 4.292 kilogrammes of psychoactive drugs, including Methamphetamine, Tramadol, Lexotan, and Swindon.
He said the drugs, which were at two major courier companies in Lagos, were concealed in walls of cartons, picture frames, bathing soap packs and bedsheets.
He added that they were recovered from parcels going to the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia by officers of the NDLEA attached to the logistics firms.
Mr Babafemi also said NDLEA operatives at Illela border in Sokoto State on February 21 intercepted a Nigerien, Bashar Abdu of Kwanni, Niger Republic, with 1.460kgs of skunk wrapped around his private part.
He said another suspect, Mohammed Garba (a.k.a Alfazazi), was arrested with 6,390 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, weighing 3.4kgs on February 23 along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway.
