By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Reporter
OPERATIVES OF the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a 42-year-old Indian woman, Ms. Neetu Neetu, at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, with 72 parcels of heroin disguised as chocolate wafer wraps.
The illicit consignment, weighing 11 kilograms, was discovered in her luggage during an inbound clearance operation of Qatar Airways flight QR1431 from Bangkok, Thailand, via Vietnam and Doha, on Friday, 14 March 2025.
According to NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), Neetu’s arrest highlights a growing trend of drug cartels recruiting foreign nationals and Caucasian women to smuggle narcotics into Nigeria.
Marwa commended NDLEA operatives for their vigilance, attributing the agency’s continued success to advanced intelligence tools and proactive counter-narcotic strategies.
In another operation in Kano, NDLEA officers arrested a 45-year-old suspect, Michael Ogundele, on Thursday, 20 March, along Zaria-Kano Road at Gadar Tamburawa.
Acting on credible intelligence, agents used welding tools to open a 50-litre steel gas cylinder in Ogundele’s possession, uncovering 50,000 tramadol 225mg pills concealed inside.
Additionally, Sunday Ogar, 40, was arrested at Gunduwawa, Kano, on Wednesday, 19 March, with 27 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis.
A separate operation on Tuesday, 18 March, led to the arrest of Khadijah Abdullahi, 40, in Lungun Bulala Yalwa, where she was caught with 424 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
Simultaneously, NDLEA officers executed major drug raids in Lagos, apprehending Olumuyiwa Kolawole and Samod Adisa in Mushin with 67.5 kilograms of skunk.
Another 100.8 kilograms of the psychoactive substance was seized from a storage facility belonging to two fugitives in Anifowoshe, Mushin.
Additionally, Isah Idris was arrested in Apapa on 18 March with 4.5 kilograms of skunk, 600 grams of tramadol 225mg, and 30 litres of codeine syrup.
Further crackdowns in Lagos on the same day led to the capture of Yahaya Mohamed in Ikotun.
Authorities found him in possession of multiple illicit substances, including cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
Beyond enforcement operations, NDLEA Commands and formations nationwide have intensified their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiatives.
Over the past week, awareness programmes were conducted at schools, markets, workplaces, and places of worship. Some key institutions engaged include Chrisland School in Ikeja, Lagos; Hakimi Secondary School in Mokwa, Niger State; Marist Comprehensive College in Nteje, Anambra State; and Government Day Secondary Schools in Sunane, Sokoto, and Jada, Adamawa.
Brig. Gen. Marwa praised the MAKIA, Kano, and Lagos NDLEA Commands for their coordinated actions in tackling both drug supply and demand reduction. He urged operatives to sustain the momentum in dismantling drug networks and protecting Nigerian communities from narcotics proliferation.
