Olayiwola Matthew
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, alongside three Nigerians, in connection with the interception of 2.2 million pills of tramadol valued at N3.99 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said in a statement on Sunday that the consignment, disguised as multivitamins, was imported from Delhi, India in 114 cartons aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight. It arrived at the airport last Monday.
According to him, NDLEA operatives placed the cargo under surveillance and swooped on a clearing agent and two drivers attempting to move the shipment in two trucks on Thursday. A follow-up operation the next day led to the arrest of Gupta when he came to take delivery.
In separate operations at the Lagos airport, NDLEA officers intercepted 900 grammes of cannabis concealed in crayfish in the luggage of a passenger, Onyeganochi Ifeanyi, heading to Doha on Qatar Airways. His confession led to the arrest of an accomplice, Ohadiegwu Uchenna, and the recovery of more drugs from his hotel room.
At Tincan Port, Lagos, 161 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 81.7kg and 1.2kg of hashish oil were seized from a container of vehicle spare parts from Canada. Two suspects were arrested, while another 65kg consignment of Canadian Loud was intercepted on the Third Mainland Bridge, with the driver, Abubakar Ibrahim, taken into custody.
NDLEA operatives also uncovered a factory in Ikorodu producing “skuchies,” a cocktail of cannabis and blackcurrant drink. Over 6,000 bottles and 4,232kg of cannabis were recovered, and the factory manager, Joy Awosika, arrested.
Similar raids and arrests were carried out in Abuja, Kano, Oyo, Anambra, Yobe, Ogun and Edo states, where tonnes of cannabis and other narcotics were seized, and suspects apprehended. In Edo, 16.9 tonnes of cannabis were destroyed on a plantation measuring nearly seven hectares.
Commending the officers for the nationwide operations, NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), urged them to sustain the “balanced approach” in tackling drug trafficking through both enforcement and sensitisation under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign.