NDLEA seizes illicit drug consignment at MMIA, intercepts 5 pregnant teenage girls
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has once again successfully thwarted fresh attempts at drug trafficking at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) and other locations across the country.
Femi Babafemi, the Agency’s Director of Media & Advocacy disclosed in a Press statement that, in a series of operations, NDLEA operatives intercepted illicit drug consignments concealed in various items, and in a separate incident, apprehended five pregnant teenage girls suspected to be victims of child trafficking.
At MMIA in Lagos, on Tuesday, September 12th, NDLEA operatives intercepted Ugwu Peter Tochukwu, an intending passenger bound for Oman via Qatar Airways. Upon thorough inspection of his luggage, 7.50 kilograms of skunk were discovered concealed inside crayfish mixed with dry bitter leaf.
In a parallel operation, NDLEA officers from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations, collaborating with courier companies, intercepted 2.9 kilograms of skunk and 14 grams of methamphetamine bound for Dubai. These drugs were cunningly concealed in bags of semovita and the soles of ladies’ high heel shoes, respectively.
In Imo state, operatives patrolling along the Aba-Owerri expressway on Wednesday, September 13th, intercepted five pregnant teenage girls suspected to be victims of child trafficking.
They were apprehended while being relocated from their hideout in Naze to Ikenegbu in the state capital. The victims, aged between 15 and 17, claimed they did not know the men who impregnated them. They will be handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operations in Kogi and Ogun states led to the arrest of Moses Akowe and Sunday Gabriel, with 227.1 kilograms of cannabis in Kogi, and Bilikisu Salako, with 108 kilograms of the same substance in Ogun.
Further investigations have led to the arrest of two more suspects, Muntari Nasiru and Yusuf Ali, in Kano, in connection with 55 kilograms of cannabis and 600 bottles of codeine-based syrup originally seized along the Abuja road.
In Abuja, Kingsley Chimaobi was arrested with 6,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup along the Lokogoma-Abuja road on Tuesday, September 11th.
In a significant development, a Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced drug dealer Segun Odeyemi to five years imprisonment for trafficking and dealing in 3,842 kilograms of skunk. Odeyemi was arrested on July 1st while transporting 89 jumbo bags of the illicit substance in his truck in the Eleganza area of Ajah, Lekki.
The NDLEA continues its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities across the country, reaching out to various stakeholders, communities, schools, worship centers, workplaces, and traditional institutions with advocacy messages.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the commitment of all commands nationwide and charged them not to relent in their efforts.
