The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted major shipments of opioids ingeniously concealed within building materials and arrested several suspects, including a 75-year-old man in Ebonyi State and four female drug dealers in separate operations nationwide.
In a significant breakthrough in Taraba State on Saturday, June 6, NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, intercepted a truck transporting building materials from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Jalingo. A thorough search at Nukkai Timber Shade, Jalingo, uncovered a large stash of illicit drugs hidden beneath the cargo.
Authorities apprehended the driver’s assistant, 22-year-old Buhari Abdullahi, in connection with the seizure. The haul included 320,840 tramadol capsules, 600 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 4,500 Rohypnol tablets, and 299 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup.
In Ebonyi State, NDLEA officers arrested 75-year-old Okebe Samuel in Okposi, finding him with 300 grams of skunk allegedly packaged in retail sachets for sale to local youths.
Similarly, a raid in Umulolo, Orlu, Imo State, led to the arrest of a suspected drug dealer, 32-year-old Chioma Okeke. Eight kilograms of skunk were reportedly recovered during the operation.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives carried out raids on notorious drug hotspots in Benin City on June 2, arresting four suspects, including three women. At Uyosa, Benin City, officers arrested Chioma Igba, 24, and Precious Ozomah, 22, with 176 grams of skunk, 65 grams of Loud, and five grams of methamphetamine. Another suspect, Anita Abraham, 21, was apprehended along Agbor Road with 95 grams of Scottish Loud and 329 grams of regular Loud. A separate operation at Upper Mission, Benin City, resulted in the arrest of 43-year-old Henry Okey, who was allegedly found with Loud, Colorado, Swinol, and methamphetamine.
In Kano State, NDLEA operatives arrested 19-year-old Saifullahi Lawan in the Kafi area of Madobi on June 4 after he was reportedly caught with 40 blocks of skunk weighing 38 kilograms. Meanwhile, in Gombe State, 28-year-old Ugwu Sabastine Ifebuchi was intercepted near Dantiti Plaza in Tumfure on June 1 with 15,000 capsules of tramadol.
Beyond enforcement efforts, the NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign in schools across the country, reaching students and staff at Holiness Foundation Primary School in Saki, Oyo State; Dorras High School in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State; Ado Girls Secondary School in Onitsha, Anambra State; Army Day Secondary School in Kano State; and several others.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers and personnel in Taraba, Ebonyi, Imo, Edo, Kano, and Gombe States for their vigilance and commitment. He also praised the agency’s nationwide efforts to balance drug supply reduction with demand reduction initiatives, reiterating the NDLEA’s determination to dismantle trafficking networks regardless of traffickers’ age, gender, or methods of concealment.
