By Ajibola Olaide, JKNewsMedia Reporter
MAJOR DRUG traffickers moving illicit substances across Nigerian borders have been dismantled by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Four members of the cartel were arrested in separate intelligence-led operations, with a significant haul of opioids and other narcotics seized from vehicles and hidden compartments.
Following weeks of surveillance by NDLEA’s Directorate of Intelligence, officers intercepted a Toyota Sienna bus marked ABJ 452 HG along the Nasarawa-Toto Road in Keffi, Nasarawa State at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, 27 January 2025.
Two suspects, Zahradeen Adamu, 27, and Abubakar Usman, 44, were arrested while transporting drugs from Onitsha, Anambra State, en-route to Yola, Adamawa State.
A second Sienna bus, driven by 48-year-old Abba Usman, was also stopped.
A thorough search of both vehicles revealed specially built steel compartments in the rear bumper and spare tyre housing.
Concealed within these sections were 190,960 tramadol pills, estimated to be worth millions of naira.
Investigators traced the supply back to an Onitsha-based dealer, Kingsley Mbaeri, who was arrested at his residence on Uga Street on 29 January.
Two vehicles, a Toyota Corolla (FGG 948 MF) and a Toyota Sienna (GWA 23 HH), were recovered from his home.
In a separate operation, NDLEA officers at the Abaji checkpoint in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) stopped a commercial bus traveling from Onitsha on 4 February.
During the search, a passenger, Chimezie Henry Ojingwa, 32, was found with a black bag containing motor spare parts.
Hidden within these parts were 404.47 grams of methamphetamine, 506.49 grams of Loud (a potent strain of cannabis), and 262.32 grams of dimethyl sulfone, a chemical precursor used in meth production.
Further interdictions across different states led to additional arrests and seizures.
On 13 February, NDLEA officers in Cross River State intercepted a truck along the Ogoja-Abakaliki road in Yahe, uncovering 170,000 tramadol pills hidden in its cargo.
In Lagos, a shipment of 85,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup, imported from India, was recovered at Apapa seaport on 11 February.
Meanwhile, in Maiduguri, Borno State, two suspects, Halilu Isa and Gambo Umaru, were arrested on 14 February along Bama Road with 60 compressed blocks of cannabis skunk, weighing 72kg.
In Ekiti, operatives raided a notorious drug joint on Iloda Street, Ikole-Ekiti, on 11 February, leading to the arrest of Bala Muhammed, 57; Yahaya Adamu, 55; and Abdullahi Shehu, 30. A total of 83 kilograms of skunk was recovered from the location.
In Lagos, Samiat Olabisi Yussuf, 28, was arrested on 15 February at her Lekki residence, where NDLEA operatives seized 169.5 litres of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, along with 111 grams of Loud.
Similarly, in Taraba, Ibrahim Usman, 40, was apprehended in Wukari with 88kg of Arizona and Ghana Loud, while Solomon James, 40, was caught with 44.84kg of the same substance in Takanaba, Sabongari, Jalingo LGA.
Across the country, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, conducting sensitisation lectures in schools, workplaces, religious centres, and local communities.
Highlights of these efforts included outreach programmes at Government Technical College, Oku, Akwa Ibom; Future Leaders Academy, Kishi, Oyo State; Government Secondary School, Bashire, Sokoto; Ehere Comprehensive School, Ogbor Hill, Abia; Government Day Secondary School, Taura, Jigawa State; and Jesuit College, Agbado-Ekiti.
Additionally, NDLEA’s Kano State Command organised a special WADA lecture for married women in purdah at Markaz Umar Bn Khattab Centre.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), in his regular inspirations, commended the operatives for their relentless efforts in curbing drug trafficking and intensifying sensitisation programmes nationwide.
