NDLEA arrests three old men with 52kg of cocaine in Lagos, Plateau, Kwara

In conjunction with the discovery of more than 52.252 kilograms of cocaine, methamphetamine, and skunk as well as 32,590 pills of opiates in Lagos, Kwara, Plateau, Sokoto, and two courier firms, NDLEA agents detained three sexagenarian grandfathers and a Nigerien.

Onyebi Benjamin Chimaobi, a suspect who frequently traveled to Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Uganda and was on the NDLEA's watchlist, was detained on February 18 in the Victory Estate, Iba, Ojo neighborhood of Lagos in connection with the discovery of 19.70 kg of cocaine abandoned on an Ethiopian Airlines flight that had arrived at the Lagos airport on February 9th.

“Chimaobi had travelled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to pick up the consignment, which he claimed was handed over to him in a black backpack bag on the plane in Addis Ababa but failed to disembark with it on arrival in Lagos.

“While the Agency continues to investigate the flight crew members, relevant intelligence and investigative tools were deployed to identify the passenger who brought the consignment to Nigeria as a result of which Chimaobi was eventually unraveled and traced to Victory estate, Iba where he was arrested,” he said.

In a similar vein, Babafemi claimed that on February 23rd at the Lagos airport's Departure Hall, operatives stopped Obazee Timothy Eguagie, a passenger on a Turkish Airline aircraft to Torino through Milan, Italy, with varying quantities of opiates. The shipment included a total of 22, 840 Tramadol 225 mg tablets weighing 10.60 kg, 1000 Tramadol 200 mg tablets weighing a gross of 600 grams, 2, 300 Tramadol 100 mg capsules weighing a gross of 800 grams, and 60 Rohypnol 1 mg tablets weighing a gross of 19 grams and concealed inside cloths.

“The following day, Friday 24th February, NDLEA operatives attached to the NAHCO import shed of the airport intercepted eight cartons of shoes coming from Los Angeles, United States of America.

“A diligent examination of the cargo however showed that the shoes were used to conceal a total of 37 parcels of Loud variant of Cannabis with a gross weight of 20.10 kilograms. A 63-year-old grandfather, Balogun Akinlabi Abideen hired as a freight agent to clear the illicit consignment has already been arrested,” he said.

“Two other sexagenarians arrested in connection with drug trafficking include Butven Siman, 62, who was nabbed with 5.5kgs skunk on Friday 17th Feb. at Timbol village, Langtang South LGA, Plateau state, as well as 65-year-old Musa Shuaib who was arrested with a kilogram of cannabis on Thursday 23rd Feb in Adewole area of Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.

“At two major courier companies in Lagos, a total of 4.292 kilograms of psychoactive drugs including Methamphetamine, Tramadol, Lexaton, and Swindon concealed in walls of cartons, picture frames, bathing soap packs and bedsheets were recovered from parcels going to United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia by officers of the NDLEA Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, DOGI attached to the logistics firms.

“In Sokoto state, NDLEA operatives at the Illela land border on Tuesday 21st Feb intercepted a Nigerien, Bashar Abdu of Kwanni, Niger Republic with 1.460kgs of skunk wrapped around his private part, while in Kaduna, a suspect, Mohammed Garba (a.k.a Alfazazi), was arrested with 6,390 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, weighing 3.4kgs on Thursday 23rd along Abuja-Kaduna express road,” he said.

Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, praised the officers and personnel of MMIA, DOGI, Plateau, Sokoto, Kaduna, and Kwara Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures while noting that their efforts and those of their compatriots across the nation have in no small part decreased access to and availability of illicit substances in Nigerian communities. He warned them to always be on the lookout.

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