The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a Lagos-based businessman, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, over an alleged attempt to smuggle cocaine to the United Kingdom.
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Onuigbo, 55, a clothing trader at the popular Balogun Market on Lagos Island, was arrested on July 23 after NDLEA operatives intercepted 3.30 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside the walls of cartons containing food items meant for export to the UK.
The consignment was intercepted on July 22 at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
In a statement on Sunday, the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said investigations first led to the arrest of three cargo agents, Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed, and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim, who allegedly processed the shipment.
Their interrogation later led operatives to Kenneth Okakpu, who allegedly delivered the consignment for export.
Further investigation, according to the agency, identified Onuigbo as the alleged mastermind of the trafficking network. He was arrested while reportedly preparing to send another cocaine consignment to the UK.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives arrested Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo, a 31-year-old entrepreneur, at her residence in Surulere, Lagos, on July 21, after intercepting 2.80 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis.
The agency said the drug had arrived from the United States aboard a United Airlines flight a day earlier.
NDLEA also recorded a major pharmaceutical seizure after recovering 2.24 million pills of Tapentadol 250mg, with an estimated street value of over ₦2.2 billion.
The drugs were recovered from a shipment that arrived from India aboard an Air Maroc flight and were uncovered during a joint examination of the cargo on July 24, following intelligence gathered by the agency.
The seizure came shortly after NDLEA officers intercepted another shipment of tramadol concealed inside containers of black soap and bound for the United Kingdom at a Lagos courier company.
At the Apapa Seaport, Lagos, operatives uncovered 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud, weighing 2,388.5 kilograms and valued at more than ₦7.1 billion. The illicit drugs were allegedly hidden inside three vehicles loaded in a shipping container.
Beyond narcotics enforcement, the agency also intercepted military-grade ammunition during operations in Katsina and Kaduna states.
In Katsina, operatives arrested Mustapha Sani, 30, in Baure, Safana Local Government Area, after discovering 323 rounds of ammunition, including 200 rounds of 7.62mm and 123 rounds of 7.6mm ammunition.
On the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway near Jere, NDLEA officers arrested another suspect, Abubakar Amadu, 30, with 73 rounds of 7.62mm RLA ammunition concealed inside kegs filled with red palm oil.
The agency said both suspects and the recovered ammunition had been handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Ilushi community, Esan South-East Local Government Area, where they recovered 1,286 kilograms of cannabis and 86 kilograms of cannabis seeds.
Two suspects were also arrested during the operation. Ojore Onweze, 45, was allegedly found with 60 kilograms of skunk, while George Agwumede, 30, was arrested with an additional 13 kilograms of the substance.
The agency also continued its War Against Drug Abuse campaign, with sensitisation programmes held in schools and communities, including Government Day Secondary School, Sabon Wuse, Niger State; Government Girls Secondary School, Shekara, Kano State; and Otto Primary School, Ebute Metta, Lagos.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, as well as the MMIA, Apapa, Edo, Kaduna and Katsina commands, for the successful operations.
Marwa urged officers across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach of combining drug supply reduction with public sensitisation in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking.
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