The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted large consignments of cannabis and pharmaceutical opioids in separate operations across Lagos, Kano, Taraba, Niger, Bauchi, Ondo and Edo states.
According to a statement signed by the Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters, Femi Babafemi, operatives arrested 30-year-old Murtala Lawan during a raid in the Gerawa area of Kano State on Thursday, October 22, recovering 159 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 97.2 kilogrammes.
In Taraba State, NDLEA officers at the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area arrested 39-year-old Raiyanu Misa on Friday, October 23, with 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175 kilogrammes.
On the same day, the Nigeria Police Force handed over to the agency a suspect arrested at Dakka village in Bali Local Government Area, with 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49 kilogrammes.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives arrested 26-year-old Emmanuel Ekene on Monday, October 19, along the Sabo-Kainji road in Borgu Local Government Area, recovering 64,000 pills of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
In Bauchi State, officers arrested 45-year-old Jamilu Mustapha, also known as Last Card, at Nasaru town in Ningi Local Government Area on Wednesday, October 21. Seven jumbo sacks containing 379 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa were seized from him.
Meanwhile, operatives of an NDLEA special operations unit arrested 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in the Eti-Osa area of Lagos State on Friday, October 23. The operation led to the recovery of 5,820 pills of diazepam, 780 tablets of tramadol, 3.7 kilogrammes of skunk and 230.25 litres of skuchies, a locally produced alcoholic mixture associated with substance misuse.
In Ondo State, operatives raided a farm at Board-Ala in Akure South Local Government Area on Tuesday, October 20, recovering 56 bags of abandoned cannabis sativa weighing 583 kilogrammes.
In Edo State, two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area, were destroyed on Sunday, October 18. The farms had an estimated yield of 2,023.14 kilogrammes of cannabis. Operatives also destroyed 450 kilogrammes of processed cannabis at the site and took another 97 kilogrammes as exhibits.
In a related operation at Ewe community in Owan West, a 42-year-old woman, Mary Edokhai, was arrested with 35 kilogrammes of cannabis.
Consequently, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers and men of the agency’s various state commands for their vigilance, professionalism and intelligence-driven operations, urging them to sustain the momentum in the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
Marwa urged them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain the momentum in the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse.