By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Reporter
SIXTY-SIX parcels of cannabis strain Loud, falsely declared as green tea, were intercepted at Murtala Muhammed International Airport following weeks of surveillance by anti-narcotic officers.
The consignment, weighing 62.20 kilogrammes, arrived from Thailand through the United Arab Emirates aboard an Emirates Airlines flight and was seized on Thursday 5th June after a joint cargo shed examination in Ikeja, Lagos.
Elsewhere in the state, NDLEA operatives confiscated a larger haul on Monday 2nd June, intercepting 1,665 kilogrammes of skunk along the Lekki-Ajah expressway.
Two suspects, Gidado Abdulrasaq Ayinde and Obanla Oluwafemi, were arrested on site and remain in custody pending investigation.
Kaduna State also recorded two major interceptions on Tuesday 3rd June.
First, operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway apprehended 29-year-old Goodluck Nnaemeka in possession of 612 bottles of codeine syrup and 2,970 flunitrazepam pills.
That same day, 52-year-old wanted drug dealer Kabiru Musa, known as KB, was tracked down and arrested in Kurmin Mashi, where 25.7 kilogrammes of skunk had earlier been recovered from his hideout.
In Edo State, NDLEA officers arrested two young women, Favour Joy and Joy Igwe, in the Ikpoba Hill area of Benin City on Tuesday 3rd June.
Their arrest led to the recovery of a combined 108.67 kilogrammes of skunk, Loud, Colorado, and methamphetamine.
Earlier along the Auchi road, a separate operation uncovered 9 kilogrammes of Loud hidden in the spare tyre compartment of an Audi station wagon driven by 45-year-old Atari Israel.
Beyond enforcement, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy campaign.
During the past week, sensitisation lectures were delivered at schools across Katsina, Ebonyi, Cross River, Lagos, and Anambra.
Zone 13 Command also extended outreach to traditional leadership, visiting the Amayanabo of Nembe Kingdom, Dr Edmund Dakoru, in Bayelsa State.
Commending the sustained efforts of his officers, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised field commands in Lagos, Edo, Kaduna, and nationwide for striking an effective balance between cutting drug supply and driving demand reduction.
