By Odita Sunday
Editor-in-Chief
*As NDLEA storms Ikorodu skuchies factory, intercepts meth, Loud, Ice across states
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has smashed a major drug trafficking syndicate following the interception of 2,248,000 pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The drugs, worth N3.99 billion in street value, were smuggled in from Delhi, India, disguised as multivitamins and packed in 114 cartons. An Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, and three Nigerian collaborators, Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode, and Bakare Korede Muheeb have been arrested in connection with the bust.
Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, who confirmed the development in a statement on Sunday, said operatives had kept the consignment under watch before pouncing on a clearing agent and two drivers attempting to move the shipment out of the airport in trucks on September 11.
“A follow-up operation the next day led to the arrest of the Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, who personally came to take delivery of the consignment. This arrest shows the extent to which international cartels are working with local accomplices to flood Nigeria with dangerous opioids,” Babafemi stated.
The NDLEA spokesman further revealed how the Agency intercepted several other illicit drug shipments within the same week. According to him, a Qatar Airways passenger, Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi, was caught with 900g of cannabis skunk hidden in crayfish, while his accomplice, Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna, was traced to a hotel in Ajao Estate where additional drugs were recovered.
He revealed that at the Tincan Port, operatives uncovered 161 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 81.7kg, and 1.2kg of hashish oil inside a 40ft container shipped from Montreal, Canada. Another 65kg consignment of Loud was tracked to the Third Mainland Bridge and intercepted in a Toyota Sienna.
Babafemi added that courier companies were also used as fronts. “Two separate shipments – methamphetamine concealed in a picture frame for delivery to Gabon, and 1.1kg Loud hidden in video decoders heading to the UAE – were also seized during the operations,” he said.
According to Babafemi, in Ikorodu, Lagos, NDLEA shut down a skuchies factory producing cannabis-laced drinks, recovering 6,029 bottles of the illicit mixture and 4,232kg of cannabis, with the factory manager, Joy Awosika, arrested.
He disclosed that multiple raids in Abuja, Kano, Oyo, Anambra, Yobe, Ogun, and Edo also led to arrests and seizures ranging from cocaine to tramadol, meth, cannabis plantations, and new psychoactive substances.
Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), while commending the officers for the nationwide blitz, said:
“The drug barons must understand there is no hiding place. NDLEA operatives are on their trail, and no matter the trick, the law will catch up with them.
“I commend our officers and men across MMIA, DOGI, Tincan, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Kano, FCT, Anambra, Yobe, and Ogun Commands for their gallantry and professionalism.
“The Agency will continue to apply a balanced approach, combining tough enforcement with aggressive sensitization under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) programme.”