Attempts by transnational criminal organisations to flood Nigerian communities with large quantities of assorted illicit drugs during the yuletide season have been thwarted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, who, on Thursday, arrested a 70-year-old grandma and her son a day after they intercepted millions of tramadol 225mg pills, thousands of codeine syrup bottles and bags of Canadian Loud in consignments arriving the country ahead of the Christmas celebration.
According to the NDLEA, its operatives raided a house in the Mushin area of Lagos on Thursday, December 21, where a 70-year-old grandma, Selifat Cole and her son, Babajide Cole, were arrested with 117.900kg of cannabis sativa.
The spokesperson for the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, revealed the development in a statement on Sunday, while noting that the arrests were made with the support of the Nigerian Customs Service and other stakeholders.
Babafemi revealed, “At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos, all tricks employed by the drug syndicates to smuggle into the country 7,500,000 pills of tramadol 225mg through the NAHCO import shed of the airport were frustrated by the NDLEA officers with the cooperation of men of the Nigeria Customs and other stakeholders.
“The consignment which was taken into custody on Friday, December 22 came onboard Turkish airline with no country of manufacture or origin. Apart from being the first time such a shipment would be seized on the airline’s flight, it was equally the first of such coming from Hamburg, Germany.
“The 7.5 million tramadol 225mg pills were also specially designed and packaged as tamol-x concealed in 100 big cartons weighing 7,150kg, which arrived the country on December 11 and placed under surveillance until last Friday. Preliminary test of the tablets proved positive to tramadol hydrochloride.”
Meanwhile, operatives of the Lagos Command of the agency on Wednesday, December 20, conducted a search operation on two shops marked Chex Mat Global Link Limited at the Trade Fair Complex in the Ojo area of Lagos where 258 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup and eight cartons of codeine tablets were recovered. The NDLEA spokesman noted that the cartons contained: 49, 200 bottles of codeine syrup and 46, 200 tablets of the same opioid.
He added, “The following day, Thursday, December 21, NDLEA operatives raided a house in Mushin area of Lagos where a 70-year-old grandma, Selifat Cole and her son, Babajide Cole, were arrested with 117.900kg of cannabis sativa.
“A consignment of spare parts that originated from Asaba, Delta state and going to Malviya Nagar, New Delhi, India was intercepted at the cargo terminal of the Lagos airport on Wednesday, December 20. NDLEA sniffer dogs were deployed to examine the spare parts; the dogs were able to identify the particular shipment containing illicit drug concealment, which a physical examination later confirmed to be cocaine measuring 200grams.
“Not less than 70 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, with a gross weight of 35kg were seized by operatives of the Tincan Command of the NDLEA from a container, marked BEAU 4993525 coming from Toronto via Montreal, Canada. The container contained four used vehicles, including a Honda CRV 2006 model, where bags of the psychoactive substance were concealed.”
Babafemi further revealed that in the Federal Capital Territory, the NDLEA operatives on Monday, December 18, intercepted a waybill consignment of 25,000 pills of tramadol while their counterparts in Anambra arrested two suspects at the Onitsha head bridge.
He noted, “Ejiro Emmanuel was driving a bus marked EFR 31 XB conveying 61,100 tramadol capsules; 1, 025 bottles of codeine; 1,350 tablets of rohypnol and 46grams of designer drug, while Daniel Ogbiyoyo was caught in a bus marked SAP 540 YK conveying 55,950 tramadol capsules; 3,117 bottles of codeine; 1,530 tablets of swinol and 1,350 tablets of rohypnol.
“Operatives in Delta State on Monday, December 18, in a joint operation with the military raided the home of a drug kingpin, Chukwuma Eneriku, at the Okanaro Street, Abbi town, where bags of cannabis weighing 353kg were recovered. The same day, the NDLEA operatives in Enugu recovered bags of cannabis sativa weighing 435.1kg in a warehouse located at Trans Ekulu, Enugu East LGA.
“In Edo State, five persons dressed in the NDLEA operational jackets were arrested with a fabricated gun and pistol carved from wood following intelligence that they were impersonating as officers of the agency and conducting illegal operations. The suspects included: Sebastine Asekiamhe, 22; Raymond Otaru, 28; Emmanuel Wisdom, 23; Solomon Edogamhe, 27; and Bonaventure Oghibui, 22. While some others in NDLEA jackets escaped, a bottle of codeine-based syrup was found with those arrested.”
