The National Drug Law Enforced Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an Indian businessman Gupta Ravi Kumar and three Nigerian accomplices: Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode and Bakare Korede Muheebb in connection with the seizure of 2,248,000 pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg.
Also, in Anambra State, a couple: Nzube Onyedika, 41, and Ebele Onyedika, 42, were arrested during a raid at Obosi where 13.9kg Methamphetamine and 5.3kg skunk were recovered from them.
Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, who broke the news yesterday, said they were intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the statement by Babafemi, the tramadol shipment worth N3.99billion was imported from Delhi, India, disguised as multi-vitamins in 114 cartons and arrived at the import shed of the Lagos airport on an Ethiopian Airline flight on September 8.
Babafemi said a team of the agency’s officers, who had put the consignment under surveillance, swooped on a clearing agent and two drivers who were trying to take the shipment from the airport in two trucks last Thursday.
He said a follow-up the following day led to the arrest of Kumar.
At the Terminal 2 Departure gate of the airport, operatives the previous Sunday also arrested a passenger, Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi, who was on a Qatar Airline flight to Doha. The spokesman said a search of Ifeanyi’s bag led to the recovery of 900grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis concealed in crayfish.
“As a first-time traveller, Onyeganochi claimed the bag was given to him to help take to Doha by a Qatar-based Nigerian Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna who actually followed him to the airport.
His confession led to the arrest of Uchenna. Operatives who later searched Uchenna’s hotel room in Ajao Estate discovered additional 200grams of the same psychoactive substance. He claimed he was to return to Doha days later and pick the bag from Onyeganochi if he had succeeded in escaping security checks,” Babafemi said.
According to the statement, at the Tin Can Port in Lagos, a total of 161 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 81.7kg and 1.2kg hashish oil were recovered from a 40-ft container of vehicle spare parts and used vehicles imported from Montreal Canada during an examination of the shipment on September 9.
Two suspects: John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, have been taken into custody in connection with the seizure.
The statement further indicated that another shipment of Canadian Loud weighing 65kg was tracked from the port to Third Mainland Bridge where NDLEA operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle conveying the consignment, recovered it and arrested the driver Abubakar Ibrahim, 42 on September 11.
Also, “In Ikorodu, Lagos,’’ Babafemi continued, ‘’operatives on September 11 raided a factory producing skuchies, a blend of cannabis and black currant drink. No less than 6, 029 bottles of the new psychoactive substance and 4,232kg of cannabis were recovered from the factory in Caritas, Ibeshe, while the Factory Manager Joy Awosika was arrested as well as Akeem Oriola, was the same day in Mushin, with 26kg skunk.’’
Babafemi said in Abuja, operatives on a stop-and-search at Utako, on September 11 arrested a dispatch rider Godsplan Vincent, 29, with 50.7grams of cocaine and 66grams of Loud.
In Lagbondoko and Akitan, Oyo, Oyo State, Three females, Faidat Azeez, 25; Alanu Fatimoh, 40, and Mojeed Taiwo, 25, who were found with 17kg skunk, were arrested.
“No fewer than 100,000 pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg were seized from Musa Shuaibu, 38, at Gadar Tamburawa, on Zaria-Kano Road on September 8 while 196 litres of Akuskura, were recovered from Abubakar Adamu, 35, at Na’ibawa, Kano by operatives who also seized 34.1kg skunk, 493 tubes of rubber solution and 25 litres of ‘suck and die’, an NPS, from Basiru Umar, 18, at Wailari area, Kumbotso Local Government Area, Kano State on September 11.
“In Anambra State, a couple: Nzube Onyedika, 41, and Ebele Onyedika, 42, were arrested during a raid at Obosi where 13.9kg Methamphetamine and 5.3kg skunk were recovered from them while various quantities of meth, tramadol, swinol, heroin and skunk were seized from another suspect Nnamchi Tochukwu, 36.
“In Yobe, Mohammed Auwal was arrested after 36 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 22.1kg were recovered from his residence at Gadan Talakawa, Potiskum, while three trans-border drug traffickers: Kunyadi Kunle Ogbungbun, 24; Olalekan Adewale, 20; and Sanya Joshua,22, were nabbed with 394kg skunk at Imeko, Ogun State during an operation by operatives with the police and local vigilante on September 7. Three motorcycles used in conveying the illicit consignment were recovered.
“In Edo State, a total of 16,966.633 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on a cannabis plantation measuring 6.786653 hectares at Ugbogyi forest, Ovia Southwest Local Government Area while 112 bags of processed cannabis weighing 1,176 kilograms were also recovered at the farm where four suspects: Ebenezer Ewang, Oshore John, Emmanuel Monday and David Sunday, were arrested.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), expressed his appreciation to the officers and enjoined them and their colleagues to continue with the good works.