The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its nationwide crackdown on illicit drug trafficking, arresting two physically challenged suspects in Abia and Rivers states, while seizing large quantities of narcotics and psychotropic substances across several parts of the country.
The agency also intercepted a Brazil-based businessman at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, with shirts and towels impregnated with liquid cocaine weighing 6.10 kilograms, in one of the week’s major drug busts.
According to a statement issued by the NDLEA on Sunday, the physically challenged suspects — 60-year-old Chidimma Sunday and 28-year-old Abubakar Usman — were arrested in separate operations linked to drug trafficking activities.
Chidimma was apprehended in Umuna Autonomous Community, Isialangwa North Local Government Area of Abia State after members of the Umuosu Vigilante Group caught her with 1.8 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis. She was subsequently handed over to NDLEA operatives on June 10.
In Rivers State, Abubakar Usman was arrested during a raid at Rumuokoro in Port Harcourt. NDLEA officers recovered 400 grams of skunk, five grams of methamphetamine, 100 grams of tramadol, five grams of swinol and 18 grams of diazepam from the suspect.
The arrests came as part of a series of coordinated anti-narcotics operations carried out across the country.
One of the most significant interceptions involved a 41-year-old businessman, Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, who was arrested at the MMIA upon arrival from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
NDLEA officials said a detailed search of his luggage uncovered 14 shirts and towels soaked in liquid cocaine, carefully dried and ironed to conceal the illicit substance.
The suspect reportedly told investigators that he had lived in Brazil for over 14 years, where he operates an African restaurant. He claimed he travelled to Nigeria to visit his wife and purchase food items for his business.
In Delta State, operatives arrested 36-year-old Onya Jude at Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area, after discovering 2.8 kilograms of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, concealed inside five cooking gas cylinders.
The anti-drug agency also recorded major successes in Gombe State, where two suspected notorious drug dealers, Jamilu Idris, popularly known as “Jama,” and Aminu Abdullahi, alias “Momo,” were arrested at Kasuwan Katako area with 2.738 kilograms of skunk.
Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives intercepted Ngozi Gaius, 39, along the Zaria-Kano road with 6,000 tablets of tramadol 225mg.
In Kwara State, officers on patrol along the Bode Saadu road arrested Nasiru Hamza, 47, and Muhammad Sani, 38, while transporting 600 compressed blocks of skunk weighing a staggering 304 kilograms in a Toyota jeep.
The agency scored another breakthrough in Taraba State where officers raided the warehouse of a suspected drug kingpin, Ali Adamu, in Maihula village, Bali Local Government Area.
The operation led to the recovery of 63 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,121.5 kilograms.
On the same day, NDLEA operatives along the Gwagwalada Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory arrested Emmanuel Nnadi, 46, and seized large quantities of illicit substances, including 30,400 pills of tramadol, 750 capsules of pregabalin, 200 pills of Molly, and 592 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
In Lagos, the agency recovered a massive consignment of Ghana Loud weighing 1,102 kilograms around the Alaba International Market area of Ojo, further underscoring the scale of illicit drug trafficking networks operating within the country.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign in schools, communities, workplaces and traditional institutions nationwide.
Educational outreach programmes were conducted in Nasarawa, Enugu, Lagos, Kano and Anambra states, while the Rivers State Command paid an advocacy visit to traditional rulers to promote drug abuse awareness and prevention.
Commending officers involved in the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the dedication of personnel across various commands.
Marwa noted that the agency’s achievements in reducing drug supply were being matched by sustained public enlightenment campaigns aimed at preventing substance abuse.
He urged officers and men of the agency to remain steadfast and continue surpassing previous operational records in the fight against illicit drugs and related crimes.
The latest arrests and seizures underscore NDLEA’s renewed determination to dismantle drug trafficking networks and curb the growing menace of substance abuse across Nigeria.