National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has arrested and detained a 35-year-old lady, Chidinma Chinenye Agbazue, after she was caught attempting to export 20 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 10.70 kilogrammes concealed in African salad popularly called abacha and dried vegetables to Doha, Qatar through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja, Lagos State.
NDLEA officers at the Lagos airport working in partnership with men of the Department of State Security had on Thursday 28th March intercepted Chidinma, an outbound passenger from Lagos to Doha, on Qatar Airways during clearance of passengers at the screening point of terminal 11 of the MMIA.
The NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said, “Preliminary investigation revealed that Chidinma was based in Qatar but returned to Nigeria last December for Christmas celebration. She said preparatory to her return to Doha, she was lodged at Club Dice Hotel in Ikotun area of Lagos where the consignment was handed over to her for trafficking to the Arab country.”
Babafemi also said two suspects: Monday Okeke and Chigozie Emeka were on Tuesday 26th March arrested by NDLEA operatives in Oniwaya, Yaba and Agege area of Lagos, where 842,560 pills of opioids especially tramadol in addition to 15 litres of codeine syrup and 596 grams of Molly were recovered from them.
“Attempt by Okeke to bribe the NDLEA officers with N5 million cash was rebuffed while the money was documented as part of exhibits to prosecute the suspects in court,” he stated.
The NDLEA also said in Bayelsa, the bid by three suspects: Ebuka Eze, 31; Ugochukwu Okoro, 44; and Kingsley Uzim, 27, to smuggle opioids including codeine, molly, tramadol and diazepam weighing a total of 73.425 kilograms to the creeks in Southern Ijaw area of the state was thwarted on Wednesday 27th March by NDLEA operatives at Swali jetty, Yenagoa where Ebuka and Ugochukwu were arrested while Uzim was nabbed at Amasoma in a follow up operation.
The drugs were concealed in jumbo sacks and conveyed to the jetty in a tricycle.
While two suspects: Eniola Muyideen and Bankole Shuaib were arrested with 137 blocks of cannabis weighing 71kg during a raid at Orile Imo, Ogun State on Friday 29th March, NDLEA operatives in Taraba recovered 39,980 pills of tramadol from a suspect, Abubakar Mohammed, 33, in Lankaviri village, and another suspect, Apaji Vincent, 29, was arrested in Wukari on Thursday 28th March with 131kg cannabis sativa.
In Abia State, Nwachukwuu Chinedu, 28, was arrested on Friday 29th March at Akara Ahuba, Isuikwuato LGA by NDLEA officers. The NDLEA recovered from him 46.65kg cannabis and different quantities of tramadol, methamphetamine and rohypnol as well as N71,500 monetary exhibit.
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