Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have arrested a businessman for attempting to export ingested cocaine and heroine to Paris, France .
NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, disclosed this on Sunday.
The suspect, 48-year-old businessman, Orizu Ifeanyi Arthur, was arrested at the boarding gate of the Abuja airport on Sunday 22nd December 2024 during the outward clearance of passengers on Air France at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.
When he was pulled aside for a body scan, Orizu turned down the request, giving medical reasons why he would not undergo the procedure.
He was thereafter taken into custody for excretion observation during which he excreted a total of 74 wraps of the Class A drugs over a period of seven days.
In his statement, Orizu claimed he owns a shop at Balogun market, Lagos Island, where he sells school and travelling bags, adding that he was promised 3,000 Euros upon successful delivery of the consignment in Paris. He left his base in Lagos for the Abuja airport to connect his Air France flight to Paris, hoping to escape detection.
In another interdiction effort, operatives of the Marine Command of NDLEA at 2:30am on Christmas eve, Tuesday 24th December 2024, intercepted two boats loaded with 1,960 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis at the Eleko beach in Lekki area of Lagos.
Six foreign nationals who brought the consignments from Ghana were arrested during the operation. They include two Ghanaians: Godsway John, 38 and Freedom Kelvin, 33; and four Beninese, Chegoun Hounsou, 23; Gadabor Nyameto, 47; Adantg Sasa, 34; and Ayao Kayivi, 21.
In Katsina, a suspect Ibrahim Shaibu, 35, was arrested on Christmas day with 40 album-size parcels of compressed cannabis sativa weighing 35kg at Central Motor Park, Katsina, while another suspect Umar Ahmed, 47, was nabbed along Zaria-Malumfashi road, Katsina, with 27 parcels of the same psychoactive substance weighing 13.5kg on Saturday 28th December.
Furthermore, a 21-year-old suspect Kosisochukwu Ozigbo, was arrested at new Lagos road Benin City, Edo state, when operatives of the anti-narcotics agency raided the area on Monday 23rd December. Recovered from the suspect include: 32,490 pills of tramadol 225mg, 200mg and 100mg; 936 bottles of codeine-based syrup and various quantities of other opioids.
The Commands across the country balanced their drug supply reduction operations with War Against Drug Abuse, (WADA) advocacy campaigns to schools, markets, worship centres and communities.
Some of these include: WADA sensitisation lecture delivered by Lagos State Strategic Command in collaboration with Menitos Foundation to residents of Akoka community at Ayetoro primary school, Akoka Bariga; while the Adamawa State command of NDLEA delivered same lecture to members of Jama’atul Nasril Islam during their annual first aid group and leadership camping in Adamawa among others.
While commending the efforts of the officers and men of NAIA, Katsina, Edo and Marine Commands of the Agency for job well done in the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) tasked them and their compatriots nationwide not to rest on the achievements of 2024 but continue to raise the bar in their offensive action against drug barons and cartels with an equal measure of WADA sensitisation campaigns in the new year.
