Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Anambra State, have uncovered various quantities of cocaine and heroin stashed in the palace of a ruler in the state.
In a statement on Monday, the State Commander of the NDLEA, Muhammadu Misbahu Idris, said 58.5 grams of cocaine and 13.9 grams of heroin were concealed in the palace of the traditional ruler.
Although the statement did not give details of the monarch, it noted that security operatives at the palace were helping to trace the owners of the consignment.
“Investigations are ongoing to unravel how the illicit drugs were hidden in the palace and the palace security guards are helping in tracing the dealer behind the consignment,” Idris said.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA spokesman in the state, Odigie Charles, who did not also disclose further details on the issue, said the command would forward the report on the operation to its headquarters, as demanded by the new regime in NDLEA.
However, another source claimed the monarch involved in the case was the Igwe of Obosi.
“The drugs were recovered from his palace. We are still investigating his link to the consignment while the dealer said to be the owner is on the run. There is a manhunt for him at the moment,” the source said.
Obosi is a hilly area bordered by Onitsha to the North-West, Nkpor to the North-East and Oba to the South-East. Sources said apart from Nnewi, it is the biggest town in Anambra State.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA Lagos command, said its officials also arrested a suspected drug trafficker, Hassan Bishi Taiwo, with three parcels of cocaine in a false bottom in his suitcase.
He was intercepted at the E-arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at the weekend.
Taiwo was arrested after he alighted from an Ethiopian Airlines flight at 1.30m on Friday, the agency’s spokesman Femi Babafemi, said on Monday.
Speaking on the developments, the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the commanders and officers involved in the operations for their vigilance and charged them to continue with the vigour of the offensive action maxim of the new leadership of the anti-drug agency.
