Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a Milan-bound businessman with 4.80kg of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos.

A statement by NDLEA, Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in Abuja said the drugs were concealed in the soles of shoes and the railings of travel bags.

Babafemi said the 38-year-old suspect was arrested on Sept. 27, at the joint screening point, Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport ahead of his Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy.

He said a thorough search by NDLEA operatives led to the recovery of 16 parcels of white powdery substance.

Babafemi said the drugs were hidden in the soles of eight pairs of trainers and canvas shoes, plus 195 wraps of same substance concealed in the railings of four travelling bags.

“The substances tested positive for cocaine, with a combined weight of 4.80kg.

“During interview, the suspect claimed he paid N16 million in cash for the cocaine in the shoes, while the consignment in the bags was meant for delivery to his partner in Italy.

“He said he raised the money from compensation paid to him for an injury at a plastic manufacturing company in Italy, in which he lost the tips of two fingers,” he said.

Babafemi said the NDLEA commands and formations across the country had continued the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities among others.

“These include WADA enlightenment lecture at the St. Paul’s Secondary School, Oji, River Enugu State; Olu-Odo Primary School, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Lagos State; and Government Junior Secondary School, Tsamiya, Kano.

“The sensitisation also took the NDLEA to Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti; and Government Science Secondary School, Lokoja, Kogi state, ” Babafemi said.

Also, the destroyed a total of 20,234 kilograms of skunk on 8.0936 hectares of cannabis farm in Osun State.

Babafemi said the forest, which was located at Area 4, Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State was destroyed on Sept. 30, by NDLEA operatives.

In another development, Babafemi said a suspect was arrested on Sept. 29 at the West of Mines area of Jos North, Plateau State, following the seizure of 33 bags of skunk weighing 385kg.

Also, in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Sept. 28, raided an unoccupied compound at Divine Estate, Ago Palace, where they recovered 209,000 tablets of tramadol.

Babafemi said a 23-year-old boy was nabbed on Sept. 30, in a follow-up operation at Ladipo Spare Parts Market following the seizure of 61 grams of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis.

A 24g of methamphetamine hidden in a bottle of an energy drink as a waybill package from a commercial bus driver along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway the previous day was recovered,” he said.

In Kogi, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja highway on Sept. 30, intercepted a Lagos-Abuja commuter bus and found a waybill concealing two sachets of methamphetamine weighing 1kg.

Babafemi said in a follow-up operation, the owner of the consignment was arrested at Utako, Abuja.

Additionally, the residence of a suspect was raided at Uyere community, Ovia North-East LGA, Edo state on Friday, Oct. 2, where NDLEA officers recovered 32.2kg of cannabis sativa.

“The same day, another suspect was arrested at Auchi Bypass, Benin City, with 59 grams of Loud, 12 grams of Colorado, 19 grams of Tramadol, 16 grams of methamphetamine, 4 grams of Swinol and 4 grams of Molly.

In another development, Six years after jumping bail, 47-year-old fugitive man was arrested by NDLEA operatives on Sept. 29.

Babafemi said the suspect was facing trial at the Federal High Court, Jos, Plateau state in connection with the possession and dealing in 198 kilograms of skunk.

He, however, jumped bail granted him by the court since December 2020 and evaded arrest since then.

NDLEA operatives at the Apapa, Tincan Island and Onne seaports have intercepted container consignments of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis and codeine-based syrup worth over N5 billion.

Babafemi said the successful operation followed months of intelligence and tracking of movement of the shipments from their ports of origin.

He said at the Apapa port, NDLEA officers acted on intelligence and subjected two containers from Bangkok, Thailand to thorough examination together with men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other stakeholders.

“A search of one of the containers on Saturday, September 3 yielded 161 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 124kg, worth N372,000,000, concealed in two refrigerators and two cartons,” he said.

He said at the Onne port in Rivers state, two containers on NDLEA watch-list, based on processed intelligence were subjected to joint examination with the NCS and other security agencies.

Babafemi disclosed that during the examination, 40 packs of Loud weighing 22kg were found hidden in a travelling bag and three of five vehicles (Toyota Matrix, Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra) shipped in one of the containers.

The second container held 109,600 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup weighing 16,440kg.

“The container had left India to Saudi Arabia where the history of its origin was deleted, to avoid being targeted.
”The codeine and Loud consignments have a combined street value of N833,200,000,”he said.

Babafemi said at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Sept. 29, conducted a joint examination of a watch-listed container from Montreal, Canada with Customs and other stakeholders.

He said the examination discovered a total of 2,595 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 1,297.5kg, concealed in a Toyota Sienna and a Hyundai Elantra, with 24 blue drums and six jumbo bags in the container.

He said the consignment was worth over N3.8 billion in street value.

Babafemi quoted the NDLEA Chairman, retired Brigadier-General Buba Marwa, as commending the officers and men of Tincan and Lagos command for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach that led to the successful operations.

Marwa urged them to sustain the onslaught against drug trafficking networks, while continuing the balanced approach efforts of the drug control agency.