Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted consignments of cocaine concealed in a local mortar and the false bottom of a backpack intended for shipment to China and Italy, as the agency intensified its nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking.
The seizures were made by officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) at a logistics company in Lagos on Thursday, 30 July.
According to a statement on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, the 250 grams of cocaine was factory-fitted into the base of a locally made mortar packaged in a carton for export to China, while another 500 grams of the illicit drug was discovered hidden in the false bottom of a backpack destined for Italy.
The latest interceptions came as the agency recorded a series of arrests and major drug seizures across several states.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 38-year-old suspected drug dealer, Ugo Gift Okonkwo, at Eagle Island in Port Harcourt following credible intelligence.
He was reportedly found in possession of various quantities of cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, swinol, tramadol and codeine syrup during the operation carried out on Sunday, July 26.
In Anambra State, officers on stop-and-search duty at the DMGS Roundabout in Onitsha intercepted a truck with registration number XK 131 BDG loaded with 26,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 3,960 kilograms.
The truck driver, 40-year-old Chinedu Nwanze, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives in Delta State recovered 331.84 kilograms of skunk from a Toyota Sienna bus with registration number KUJ 26 DV along the Kwale-Ughelli Expressway during an operation on Sunday, July 26.
In Nasarawa State, a 64-year-old suspect, Joseph Nwaeke, was arrested on Tuesday, July 28, at Asso Angwan Muazu in Karu Local Government Area with 68 kilograms of skunk and 29 grams of methamphetamine.
Also in Zamfara State, operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Gusau Highway intercepted a 27-year-old suspect, Sani Umar, on Monday, July 27, with 7,400 pills of Tramadol 225mg suspected to be supplies intended for criminal elements.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency said it sustained its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitization programs in schools, communities, places of worship and workplaces.
During the past week, anti-drug awareness lectures were delivered to students and staff of Hausawa Special Primary School in Kano, Royal Crown School in Oluyole, Ibadan, Government Secondary School in Ibi, Taraba State, and commercial drivers at the Challenge Bus Terminal Park in Ibadan, among other locations.
Commending the officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations as well as the Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara State Commands for the successful operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control through aggressive enforcement and continuous public enlightenment.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to disrupting drug trafficking networks while intensifying preventive education aimed at reducing drug abuse across the country.
