NDLEA uncovers 2.1 tonnes of cannabis hidden in fuel tanker

A 20,000-litre fuel tanker allegedly modified to transport illicit drugs has been intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Ondo State, leading to the recovery of 2,145kg of cannabis.

The tanker, marked MKA 960 XC, was intercepted on Friday along the Akoko-Lokoja Expressway after the driver reportedly refused to stop for NDLEA operatives.

According to a statement issued by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the driver later abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and escaped into the bush.

A search of the tanker subsequently uncovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis, also known as skunk.

The illicit consignment was allegedly being transported alongside the tanker’s legitimate fuel cargo to Jos, Plateau State.

The NDLEA described the discovery as one of the major interceptions recorded during its coordinated operations across several states.

The agency said the tanker had previously been notorious for evading arrest.

The latest operation formed part of a wider crackdown that also resulted in drug seizures and arrests in Lagos, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu states.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350g of cocaine, more than 100kg of various grades of tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of Rohypnol at Gbaji.

Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were also arrested with 720kg of cannabis at Agbara.

In Kaduna, 1,179kg of skunk was recovered from a truck carrying cement along the Zaria-Kano Expressway.

Meanwhile, three suspects were arrested in Kogi with 636kg of cannabis allegedly concealed in chicken manure inside a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain the agency’s intelligence-led approach to combating drug trafficking.