A 52-year-old businessman, Ejiofor (surname withheld), has been nabbed by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano following which a total of 127 wraps of cocaine concealed in his private part and stomach were recovered after days under excretion observation.
Ejiofor, who operates boutiques in Lagos and Onitsha, Anambra State, was taken into NDLEA custody upon his arrival from Bangkok, Thailand via Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 941 on October 8 following credible intelligence.
The Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, said in a statement on Sunday that the suspect was taken for body scan which confirmed he ingested illicit drugs and had some concealed in his private parts.
A total of 58 wraps of cocaine were immediately recovered from his pant after which he was taken for excretion observation during which he egested 69 pellets of cocaine in seven excretions, bringing the total number of wraps of the Class A drug recovered from him to 127 weighing 1.388 kilogrammes.
The statement also said, NDLEA operatives intercepted three consignments of illicit drugs heading to the United Kingdom on Thursday and Friday at a courier company in Lagos.
One of the shipments, 1.74 kilogramme of methamphetamine, was recovered from blocks of glass ceramics, while another shipment contained 114 grammes and 168 grammes of pentazocine and tramadol injections respectively, just as the third consignment contained 48 grammes of tramadol capsules concealed in Vitamin C container, all going to the UK.
Bids by another set of criminal syndicates to ship 2.6kg skunk and 422grammes tapentadol 250mg concealed in tablets of black soap heading to Turkey; 169 grammes of cocaine hidden in lady’s handbags going to Australia and 568 grammes of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis concealed in containers of herbs going to United Arab Emirates, were thwarted by NDLEA operatives at some courier companies in Lagos.
Meanwhile, a total of 27,510 pills of rohypnol concealed in sachets of alcoholic drinks going to South Africa have been intercepted by NDLEA officers at the export shed of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
After the initial arrest of a freight agent and a cab driver linked to the shipment, a follow-up operation at Oyingbo market in Lagos led to the arrest of the mastermind, 46-year-old Samuel (alias Yellow) on October 2.
Same day, Babafemi said an Italy-based businessman, Enehizena (surname withheld), was arrested by operatives of the NDLEA while attempting to export 3,700 pills of tramadol 225mg and 2,600 tabs of tapentadol 200mg hidden in food items to the European country. He claimed he was trafficking the opioids for someone else for a fee of pound 945.
In Edo State, a raid of the home of a suspect, Emmanuel (surname withheld) at Ugbekpe Ekperi in Etsako Central LGA, led to the recovery of 47 kilogramme skunk, a strain of cannabis and two suspects, were on Wednesday, arrested at Omifufun village, Ife South LGA, Osun State following the seizure of 635 kilogrammes of skunk from their Toyota Hiace bus.
Two other suspects were nabbed at same location with 100 kilogramme skunk recovered from them along with their motorcycle.
While Okoro and Onyebuchi (surnames withheld), were arrested in different parts of Port Harcourt, Rivers State in connection with the seizure of 8.5 kilogramme skunk on Friday, Sulaiman (surname withheld) was nabbed after 29.5kilogramme of same substance was found in his house at Bayan Asiti, Jibia town, Katsina State on Saturday.
In Niger State, NDLEA officers, on October 8, arrested Yisa (surname withheld) at New Bussa, where 22,000 capsules of tramadol, 800 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 150,000 pills of exol-5 were seized from him.
A total of 312 kilogramme skunk was recovered from a bush at Ologede camp, Ogbese, Ondo State while operatives on patrol along Benin-Lagos expressway, on Thursday, intercepted two suspects in a car conveying 141.8 kilogramme skunk.
In Kaduna, a suspect was nabbed at Abuja/Kaduna toll gate while conveying 150,000 pills of Exol-5 from Lagos to Katsina.
While commending the officers and men of MMIA, MAKIA, DOGI, Kano, Edo, Rivers, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Ondo, and Osun Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier-General Mohamed Marwa (retd) urged them and their compatriots across the country to maintain their tenacity, professionalism and balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the agency.