PICTORIAL: NDLEA Intercepts Spain-bound Cocaine Concealed In Businessman’s Sandals

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recovered a consignment of cocaine hidden in the sandals of a businessman bound for Spain at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.

This was disclosed in a press release dated Sunday, July 28, 2024, signed by NDLEA’s Director of Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

The statement revealed that “a Spain-based businessman, 50-year-old Francis Akajiobi, was arrested by NDLEA operatives at the departure hall of Terminal 2 of MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, after parcels of cocaine weighing 1.20 kilograms were discovered in his sandals while attempting to board his Royal Air Maroc flight to Madrid, Spain.”

The two parcels of cocaine were concealed in the soles of Akajiobi’s black sandals, which were detected during a security check on Thursday, July 25, 2024. During his preliminary interview, Akajiobi claimed that the consignment was handed to him at a bar in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with instructions to deliver it to a friend in Spain for a fee of €5,000.

In a related development, the NDLEA also arrested one Makinde Sodiq Lekan in connection with the seizure of 99 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 51.60 kilograms, which arrived at the SAHCO Imports shed of Lagos airport on a Turkish Airlines flight from Canada via Istanbul, Turkey.

Meanwhile, a special operations unit targeting drug syndicates has apprehended Chukwuemaka Obodozie, a kingpin involved in smuggling large consignments of opioids. He was arrested at Cele bus stop along Oshodi-Apapa express road, Lagos, with 100,000 tablets of tramadol 225mg in two bags shortly after arriving from Ghana. This intelligence-led operation followed five months of surveillance.

In another operation, NDLEA operatives raided Owena Forest in Oriade LGA, Osun State, on Friday, July 26, 2024, resulting in the destruction of 31,250 kilograms of cannabis on 12.5 hectares of farmland and the arrest of 17 suspects. Among the items recovered were 84 kilograms of processed cannabis sativa and a single-barrel Dane gun. The arrested suspects include: Peter Osuya, 51; Zebron Ode, 46; Dogo Reuben Matthew, 35; Isaac Terna; Joseph David Lawrence, 27; Ugochukwu Victory, 24; Olamilekan Abolarin, 26; Dele Ayibo, 44; Ojo Moses, 21; Nini Ayila, 27; Msughve Clement, 23; Chuks Ogeneku, 40; Dada Aribo, 20; Uche Endurance, 30; Patrick Agba, 21; Osakwe Kennedy, 45; and Ojo Babatunde, 29.

In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 32-year-old woman, Ubaida Aliyu, during a stop-and-search patrol along the Kaduna-Zaria highway on Saturday, July 27, 2024. She was found in possession of 573 rounds of 7.60 live ammunition, which she admitted were intended for delivery to bandits in Sokoto. Additionally, Godwin Udochukwu, 35, was arrested for possessing 25,000 ampoules of Pentazocine injection along the Kaduna-Zaria highway, while Alkasim Mikailu, 35, was nabbed in Kano with 37,880 ampoules of Diazepam injection.

Further arrests included Abioye Adeniyi, 39, and Rafiu Lekan, 41, with 55 jumbo wraps of Ghana Loud on Badagry-Seme road, Lagos, and Samson Ifeayi Egwutouhi, 30, who was caught with 20 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa weighing 10.5 kilograms on the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway. In Bauchi State, Suleiman Yahaya, 50, and Ibrahim Bello (a.k.a Special), 35, were arrested with 315 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 204.75 kilograms along the Maiduguri bye-pass.

The NDLEA also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centers, workplaces, and communities across the country. These efforts included lectures at Government Secondary School, Gada, Sokoto State; Holy Trinity Primary School, Aroje, Ogbomoso, Oyo State; Holy Innocent Juniorate, Nkpor Onitsha, Anambra State; Government Christian Secondary School, Shuwa Madagali, Adamawa State; and for commercial motorcycle riders in Badagry, Lagos State.

Reacting to the developments, chairman/chief executive officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of the Special Operations Unit, MMIA, Osun, Bauchi, Kogi, Seme, and Kaduna Commands for their efforts. He praised their relentless fight against drug cartels and expressed satisfaction with the balance of drug supply reduction and demand reduction activities, urging them to continue their commendable work.

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