NDLEA Busts UK Cocaine Syndicate, Seizes ₦9.3Bn Drugs, Military Ammunition
By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a cocaine trafficking syndicate and made several other major drug and ammunition seizures valued at more than ₦9.3 billion.
NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosing this on Sunday, said the alleged ringleader of the cocaine trafficking syndicate, 55 year-year-old Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, a clothing trader at Lagos’ Balogun Market, was arrested on Thursday, July 23, after operatives linked him to a 3.30kg cocaine shipment concealed in the walls of food cartons destined for the UK.
According to the anti-narcotics agency, the cocaine consignment had been intercepted a day earlier at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. Investigations initially led to the arrest of three cargo agents—Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed, and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim—before officers apprehended Kenneth Okakpu, who delivered the shipment. His arrest subsequently exposed Onuigbo as the alleged mastermind, who was arrested while attempting to dispatch another cocaine consignment to Britain.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo, 31, at her Surulere residence on Tuesday, July 21, following the seizure of her 2.80kg consignment of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, which arrived from the United States aboard a United Airlines flight.
The agency also recorded another significant breakthrough at the Lagos airport, where operatives intercepted 2.24 million pills of Tapentadol 250mg valued at over ₦2.2 billion. The consignment, which arrived from India aboard an Air Maroc flight, was uncovered during a joint cargo examination on Friday, July 24, following intelligence gathered by the agency.
The seizure came shortly after NDLEA officers intercepted another shipment of tramadol concealed inside containers of black soap bound for the UK at a Lagos courier company.
At the Apapa Seaport, operatives uncovered a container carrying three vehicles used to conceal 2,388.5kg of Canadian Loud, packaged in 4,777 sachets and valued at over ₦7.1 billion.
Beyond drug trafficking, NDLEA also intercepted illegal ammunition in separate operations. In Katsina State, operatives arrested Mustapha Sani, 30, at Baure in Safana Local Government Area with 323 rounds of military-grade ammunition, comprising 200 rounds of 7.62mm and 123 rounds of 7.6mm ammunition.
Similarly, Abubakar Amadu, 30, was arrested during a stop-and-search operation at Jere along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway after officers discovered 73 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition concealed inside kegs of red oil. Both suspects have been handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Ilushi Community, Esan South-East Local Government Area, recovering 1,286kg of cannabis and 86kg of cannabis seeds. Two additional suspects, Ojore Onweze, 45, and George Agwumede, 30, were arrested with 60kg and 13kg of skunk respectively.
The agency also sustained its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, conducting sensitisation programmes in schools and communities, including Government Day Secondary School, Sabon Wuse in Niger State; Government Girls Secondary School, Shekara in Kano State; and Otto Primary School, Ebute Metta, Lagos.
Commending officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) as well as the MMIA, Apapa, Edo, Kaduna and Katsina Commands, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts.
