NDLEA uncovers UK-bound cocaine after three weeks’ surveillance
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered a drug trafficking syndicate in operations that lasted three weeks during which cocaine consignments concealed in tins of palm
- From Nicholas Kalu, Abuja
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered a drug trafficking syndicate in operations that lasted three weeks during which cocaine consignments concealed in tins of palm kernel extract headed for the United Kingdom were intercepted.
Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA Headquarters Abuja, Femi Babafemi, who confirmed this in a statement yesterday, said the warehouse where the shipments were packaged was raided and the kingpin, King Arinze, arrested.
Babafemi said the operatives attached to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Strategic Command, Ikeja, Lagos on Wednesday, March 11, this year, intercepted 3.10 kilograms of cocaine at the export shed of the airport.
He named the suspects handling the shipment as Idris Olayiwola Amoo and Akinlami Akinsoji Adedoyin.
He said last Thursday, the sender of the consignment, Ezemuwo Joel, with Ajayi as a fake name, was arrested.
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He provided the link to the syndicate’s head, 52-year-old King Arinze, who was flushed out of a hideout in Isolo, Lagos, he added.
Babafemi said Arinze was taken to his warehouse at 11, Ola Ifa Street, Bucknor, Isolo where NDLEA operatives recovered 886 tins of palm kernel extract prepared for drug concealment.
Other items recovered, he said, were industrial tools, including a sealing machine, tin openers, paint sprays, 52 grams of cannabis sativa and a pack of hand gloves.
The agency’s spokesman said Arinze had since confessed to draining the oil from the tins to conceal the cocaine.
In another operation in Borno State, NDLEA operatives last Wednesday intercepted a female drug supplier to bandit groups operating between the Northeast and Chad, 28-year-old Aisha Adamu.
Babafemi said she was arrested on Gamboru Ngala Road in possession of 4.3 kilograms of Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
Also, Babafemi said the Pastor, Celestial Church of Christ, Agonvi Sea Beach, Sakpo, Seme border, Badagry, Lagos State, Afolabi Hodonu, 45, and his wife, Mrs. Success Hodonu, 35, were last Thursday arrested by NDLEA operatives at Gbaji checkpoint for drugs.
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He said a search of the couple’s Honda Pilot SUV led to the recovery of blocks of skunk weighing 11kg concealed in hidden parts of their vehicle.
“The arrest of the couple followed the apprehension of a fake security agent, Sunday Samuel, 35, at the same checkpoint on Monday, March 30, while conveying 24.5kg skunk from Seme border to Lagos,” Babafemi said.
He said in Adamawa State, NDLEA officers on patrol on Namtari Road, Yola South on last Monday, intercepted a trailer marked RUW 947 XA transporting 48,000 pills of tramadol.
The truck driver, Abdulaziz Ismail Korede, was arrested while a follow-up led to the arrest of the recipient, Idris Adamu, he said.
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The statement added: “While 60-year-old Idiatu Oladejo was arrested with 15kg skunk in Isale Osun, Osogbo, Osun State on Wednesday, April 1, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence raided the Itaogbolu forest, Akure, Ondo State where they recovered 351 kilograms of skunk and its seeds.
‘’No fewer than 28,600 capsules of tramadol were seized from a 66-year-old Aminu Usman Gembu when he was arrested at Aliade, Benue State on Wednesday, April 1.
“In Edo State, a suspect, Roland Owie, 37, was arrested on Monday 30th March following the raid of his warehouse at Egbanke community, Orhionmwon Local Government Area, where 1,378 kilograms of skunk were recovered.
“A notorious drug dealer, 40-year-old Ayantola Omodunmomi (a.k.a Iya Elle) was on Wednesday, April 1 arrested at Eleta, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Her arrest follows surveillance on how she uses her 11-year-old daughter, Anjola, to deliver illicit drugs to her customers. At the time of her arrest, 45.6kg skunk was recovered from her warehouse.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for their efforts.
