By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Reporter
HEADINNG FOR Iran through Port Harcourt, a businessman has been arrested after ingesting 53 wraps of cocaine by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The agency also uncovered major drug trafficking operations across airports, seaports, and border regions within Nigeria in a sweeping crackdown last week.
The 44-year-old suspect, Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, was intercepted at Port Harcourt International Airport while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Tehran on Saturday, 7 June.
A scan revealed illicit substances in his system, leading to his detention under observation. He subsequently excreted 53 cocaine pellets over six rounds, totalling 1.172 kilograms.
Preliminary interrogation revealed that he had been ferrying narcotics between West Africa and Iran for the past two years.
Just days later, NDLEA officers at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport halted another international courier attempt.
In the early hours of Saturday, 14 June, Italy-bound passenger Edobor Ambrose Ali was removed from an Air France flight after his luggage, scanned at the tarmac with aviation security, flagged suspicious contents.
A thorough search uncovered 14,410 tramadol pills disguised in winter jackets. The suspect, who resides in Italy, admitted being paid €2,000 to traffic the drugs to Milan.
Further operations led to the seizure of codeine-based syrup shipments worth over ₦1.1 billion at Port Harcourt Ports in Rivers State. NDLEA agents, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies, discovered 157,800 bottles of the opioid hidden behind ceramic wares in a watch-listed container on Friday, 13 June.
Meanwhile, in Cross River State, a warehouse raid in Obereakai, Odukpani LGA led to the arrest of three suspects and the recovery of 2,687 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis. The suspects were identified as Friday Achibong Joseph, 47; Abraham Anthony Willy, 21; and Utibe David Okon, 24.
Also on Thursday, 12 June, a drug transport operation was intercepted on the Bauchi-Jos road, resulting in the seizure of 287 kilograms of skunk from a Toyota Camry. Two individuals, Iriemi Imonikhe, 49, and Sa’idu Ladan, 30, were arrested in connection with the haul.
On the same day, marine operatives at Oniru Beach in Lagos uncovered 560 kilograms of skunk concealed in jumbo sacks aboard a wooden boat.
Elsewhere, at the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport in Maiduguri, two men—30-year-old Ishaku Abdullahi and 32-year-old Buba Usman—were caught with ecstasy pills and cannabis packaged in decorative wrappers labelled ‘Lychee’ and ‘Porro Legal’.
NDLEA’s advocacy arm also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) outreach, delivering sensitisation lectures to students and staff across schools in Enugu, Ebonyi, Oyo, and Akwa Ibom States.
The programme forms part of the agency’s nationwide campaign to reduce drug demand through public education.
The agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), applauded operatives across the MMIA, PHIA, MBIAM, PHPC, Marine, Cross River, and Bauchi Commands for their relentless efforts.
He reiterated the agency’s dual strategy of targeting both drug supply chains and consumer demand with equal vigour.
