Two Nigerians arrested in Abuja with 3.46kg of cocaine
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Punch, Tribune Online and Leadership
Two Nigerians based in Europe were arrested in Abuja on 28 October after swallowing 200 cocaine wraps weighing 3.46 kilograms, which they were attempting to transport to Paris. The NDLEA detected them using a body scanner, according to Punch, Tribune Online and Leadership. The media also reported major seizures of cannabis, medicines and ammunition in several states, as well as plantation-destruction operations.
Odife, who lives in France and works in a factory, had swallowed 110 wraps, weighing 1.901 kilograms. Sam Blackborn had swallowed 90, weighing 1.559 kilograms. The two men were placed under surveillance and expelled all the wraps, which tested positive for cocaine, Leadership reports. Odife had arrived in Nigeria on 21 October for a short holiday.
In Lagos, operations on 25 October led to the seizure of 537 kilograms of skunk from a Volkswagen LT 28 bus in Ikeja, followed by 439 kilograms from a J5 vehicle on the Gbagada-Oshodi route, according to Tribune Online and Leadership. In Oyo State, Oguntona Nasiru, 46, and Soji Balogun, 47, were arrested on 29 October while loading 554 kilograms of skunk into a Volvo lorry, Leadership reported. The seizure was linked to an operation targeting an alleged trafficker known as “Omo Oba”, associated with the seizure four days earlier of 309.5 kilograms of “Ghanaian Loud” cannabis.
Leadership also gives details of several operations in Kano State. On 26 October, the NDLEA recovered 247,500 diazepam tablets weighing 57.7 kilograms and 100,000 Exol-5 tablets weighing 38.7 kilograms. Two days later, Ziya’ulhaq Abdullahi, 35, and Garba Muhammed, 52, were arrested with 19,250 tramadol tablets dosed at 225 milligrams, weighing 13.6 kilograms. A 68-year-old man, Ifeanyi Egwolonwu, was also arrested on the Zaria-Kano route with 2,770 pentazocine ampoules, 100 diazepam ampoules, 11,000 diazepam tablets and 4,500 Exol-5 tablets. Seven people were also arrested at Tashan Banke, where 178.85 kilograms of cannabis, as well as diazepam, tramadol, Exol-5 and pregabalin, were seized.
In Ondo State, four people were arrested on 25 October during an operation against cannabis plantations in Ijare forest, with 180 kilograms of packaged cannabis, according to Leadership. In Edo, Christiana Uboi, 50, was arrested at a destroyed 1.646-hectare plantation; 301 kilograms of packaged cannabis and a further 176 kilograms were recovered. In Sokoto State, Ibrahim Ayuba, 68, was arrested on 31 October with 236.6 kilograms of skunk. NDLEA chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa praised the teams and called for continued monitoring of the country’s entry and exit points, while requesting that prevention campaigns be stepped up in schools, places of worship, businesses and communities as part of the War Against Drug Abuse initiative.
