By Joke Kujenya
IN A significant operation, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized multi-billion-naira worth of cocaine hidden in heavy-duty automobile pivot shafts and Ghanaian kente fabric.
The nationwide, intelligence-led operation revealed sophisticated smuggling methods targeting international destinations.
On August 5, 2024, NDLEA operatives intercepted 2.32 kilograms of cocaine hidden within traditional Ghanaian kente materials at a courier firm in Lagos.
The consignment was destined for the United Kingdom (UK).
In a related operation at the same facility, 10.494 kilograms of cocaine were found concealed in heavy-duty pivot shafts, ready to be shipped to the United States (US).
The total weight of cocaine seized from both operations amounted to 12.814 kilograms.
Further operations on August 9, 2024, led to the interception of five additional consignments heading to the US, UK, and Canada.
Among the seized items were 517 grams of cocaine hidden in clothing materials, pentazocine injection, promethazine injection, and cocodamol pills destined for the UK.
The NDLEA also recovered 297 pills of tramadol 225mg headed for Canada.
In another logistics company in Lagos, officers seized 21 parcels of Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain weighing 10 kilograms, which had been shipped from the US and was meant for delivery in Abuja.
In a separate operation on August 7, 2024, NDLEA officers arrested Obiora Joseph Agudosi, a member of a cocaine trafficking network, in the Alafia Orile area of Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.
Agudosi was caught attempting to move 9.00 kilograms of cocaine to Onitsha, Anambra State.
This arrest led to the capture of two other syndicate members in Nnewi and Oba, Anambra State, on August 8.
Their arrests followed the seizure of their consignments in a GUO transport company bus in Benin, Edo State.
The bus driver, Harrison Mbachu, 44, was arrested with 2.865 kilograms of cocaine. Izuchkwu Arinze, 40, was caught in Nnewi with 1.748 kilograms of cocaine and 514 grams of sodium bicarbonate.
Ameachi Okoro, 39, was apprehended in Oba with 1.117 kilograms of cocaine.
Meanwhile, on August 7, NDLEA operatives at the Tincan Seaport in Lagos intercepted 532 parcels of Loud weighing 265.25 kilograms.
The illicit substance was hidden in a black Toyota Sienna bus inside a container arriving from Montreal, Canada.
Another seizure of 75 parcels weighing 37.5 kilograms was made the following day in a container from Canada.
In Adamawa State, on August 8, 2024, NDLEA officers arrested Joseph Peter, 49, with 425 compressed blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 291.2 kilograms.
He was transporting the drugs from Edo State to Yola, Adamawa State, in a Toyota Camry.
Additional arrests occurred on August 6, 2024, in Kano, where two suspects, Adekunle Sunday Adebayo, 50, and Yahaya Mamuda, 35, were caught with 29.5 kilograms of cannabis at Gadar Tamburawa.
In Lagos, 1,169 kilograms of cannabis were recovered from a bus along Orchid Road, Ajah, on August 4, 2024.
On August 9, 2024, NDLEA officers, supported by the Nigerian Army, destroyed 1,230 kilograms of cannabis on three hectares of farmland in Ikeje forest, Edimogo village, Kogi State.
The owner, Danjuma Maji, 40, was arrested.
In the past week, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) activities, with sensitization campaigns across schools, worship centers, and communities.
Events included lectures and committee inaugurations in Oyo, Anambra, Kwara, and Ekiti States, reinforcing the agency’s commitment to drug prevention.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) applauded the officers involved in these operations, urging them to maintain their efforts in reducing both drug supply and demand across the nation.
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