Michael Olugbode in Abuja
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted cocaine consignments ingeniously concealed in a local mortar and the false bottom of a backpack destined for China and Italy, as it intensified its nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking syndicates.
The seizures, made by operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) at a Lagos logistics company on Thursday, involved 250 grammes of cocaine factory-fitted into the base of a traditional local mortar packaged for export to China and 500 grammes of cocaine hidden in the false compartment of a backpack bound for Italy.
The latest interceptions came as the anti-narcotics agency recorded a string of major arrests and seizures across Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara states.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 38-year-old suspected notorious drug dealer, Ugo Okonkwo, at Eagle Island, Port Harcourt, following intelligence-led surveillance.
Various quantities of cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, swinol, tramadol and codeine syrup were recovered from him during the operation.
In Anambra State, officers on a stop-and-search operation at the DMGS Roundabout, Onitsha, intercepted a truck bearing registration number XK 131 BDG loaded with 26,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 3,960 kilogrammes. The truck driver, Chinedu Nwanze, 40, was arrested.
Similarly, in Delta State, operatives recovered 331.84 kilogrammes of skunk from a Toyota Sienna bus with registration number KUJ 26 DV along the Kwale-Ughelli Expressway.
In Nasarawa State, a 64-year-old suspect, Joseph Nwaeke, was arrested at Asso Angwan Muazu in Karu Local Government Area with 68 kilograms of skunk and 29 grams of methamphetamine.
In Zamfara State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Gusau Highway intercepted Sani Umar, 27, who was allegedly transporting 7,400 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, suspected to be supplies intended for criminal and bandit groups operating in the region.
According to the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, beyond enforcement operations, the agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign across the country.
Sensitisation programmes during the week were conducted for students and staff in Kano, Oyo and Taraba States, as well as commercial drivers at Challenge Bus Terminal Park in Ibadan.
Commending officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations and the commands in Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara for the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced strategy of aggressive enforcement alongside preventive drug abuse education.
The latest seizures underscore the evolving methods employed by drug trafficking networks and the agency’s continued efforts to disrupt both domestic distribution channels and international smuggling routes.