NDLEA intercepts cocaine hidden in mortar, backpack bound for China, Italy

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 destined for China and Italy through a logistics company in Lagos.

The agency said the seizures were made by officers of its Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) on Thursday, July 30.

According to a statement by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, 250 grammes of cocaine were factory-fitted into the base of a local mortar packaged for export to China, while another 500 grammes were hidden in the false bottom of a backpack meant for shipment to Italy.

In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested a suspected notorious drug dealer, 38-year-old Ugo Gift Okonkwo, at Eagle Island in Port Harcourt following credible intelligence.

The agency said the suspect was apprehended on July 26 with quantities of cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, swinol, tramadol and codeine syrup.

In Anambra State, officers on stop-and-search duty at the DMGS Roundabout in Onitsha intercepted a truck carrying 26,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 3,960 kilogrammes. The truck driver, 40-year-old Chinedu Nwanze, was arrested.

Similarly, in Delta State, operatives recovered 331.84 kilogrammes of skunk from a Toyota Sienna bus with registration number KUJ 26 DV along the Kwale-Ughelli Expressway.

In Nasarawa State, the agency arrested a 64-year-old suspect, Joseph Nwaeke, at Asso Angwan Muazu in Karu Local Government Area with 68 kilogrammes of skunk and 29 grammes of methamphetamine.

The NDLEA also intercepted a suspected supplier of illicit drugs to bandits in Zamfara State.

The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Sani Umar, was arrested along the Zaria-Gusau highway with 7,400 tablets of 225mg tramadol believed to be intended for criminal elements.

Beyond enforcement operations, the agency said its commands across the country sustained the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, communities, workplaces and motor parks.

The awareness activities were held at Hausawa Special Primary School in Kano, Royal Crown School in Ibadan, Government Secondary School in Ibi, Taraba State, and Challenge Bus Terminal Park in Ibadan, among other locations.

Commending the officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach of combining drug supply reduction with public sensitisation in the fight against substance abuse.