Agents from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) conducted raids on several courier firms in Lagos, successfully thwarting drug syndicates’ attempts to export illicit substances.
The contraband, including varying amounts of methamphetamine and opioids, was concealed in innovative ways such as hems of new jeans trousers, dolls, buttons, local soap, and tins of milo beverage destined for Europe, the United Arab Emirates, and Asia.
Among the intercepted consignments by NDLEA operatives from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) were: tramadol 225mg hidden in hems of new jeans trousers intended for Cyprus; cannabis sativa concealed in doll heads en route to Dubai, UAE; sachets of tramadol 225mg buried within tins of milo beverage and local soap headed to the UAE; and another batch of methamphetamine disguised in buttons bound for Hong Kong.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, a shipment containing illicit substances from Florida, USA, was also intercepted at a courier firm. The recipient, Daniel Ogi, was subsequently tracked and apprehended at 5 Akeem Shittu Street, Ajao Estate Lagos, on Friday, November 24th, 2023.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested a drug kingpin, Okechukwu Ogala, 56, renowned for exploiting and recruiting young individuals to traffic meth to Asian countries. He was apprehended at the Blue Moon Hotel in Okota, Lagos, with 60 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.009 kilograms on Friday, December 1st.
Additional operations in Lagos resulted in the seizure of 393 kilograms of cannabis at a shop in Akala, Mushin, and the arrest of suspect Justin Enuonye, a dealer in Canadian Loud, with 154 parcels weighing 92 kilograms, initially apprehended by the police in Victoria Island and transferred to the Lagos Command of NDLEA on Friday, December 1st.
Moreover, NDLEA operatives intercepted a vehicle in Oyingbo, Lagos, recovering 108 kilograms of cannabis. Additionally, 675 kilograms of the same substance were retrieved from the storeroom of a wanted dealer, Wahab Olota, in the Adedoja area, Mushin, Lagos.
In Edo state, NDLEA operatives discovered 5,988 kilograms of processed cannabis in the Ujiogba forest, Esan West LGA, and arrested 22-year-old Mson Bunde (known as Tete Peter Joseph) found in a hut on the cannabis farm on Wednesday, November 29th.
