NDLEA Apprehends Suspect as Illicit Drugs Concealed in ‘Abacha’ Route to Qatar

Chidinma Agbazue, a 35-year-old woman, has been detained by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for allegedly attempting to smuggle 20 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 10.70 kilograms.

The drugs were concealed in African salad, commonly known as Abacha, and dried vegetables. Chidinma was caught at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos while trying to export the drugs to Doha, Qatar. NDLEA officers, in collaboration with the Department of State Security, intercepted her during the passenger clearance process at the screening point of terminal 11.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Chidinma had been based in Qatar but returned to Nigeria in December for the Christmas holidays. She claimed that the drugs were handed over to her at a hotel in the Ikotun area of Lagos before her departure.

In a separate incident, two suspects named Monday Okeke and Chigozie Emeka were arrested by NDLEA operatives in Lagos, where a significant amount of opioids, codeine syrup, and Molly were recovered from them. Okeke attempted to bribe the NDLEA officers with N5 million, but his offer was rejected, and the money was documented as evidence for their prosecution.

According to the report, the attempt to smuggle opioids, including codeine, molly, tramadol, and diazepam, weighing a total of 73.425 kilograms, to the creeks in Southern Ijaw area of Bayelsa state was foiled by NDLEA operatives at Swali jetty, Yenagoa. Two suspects, Ebuka Eze and Ugochukwu Okoro, were apprehended at the jetty, while Kingsley Uzim was arrested in a subsequent operation in Amasoma.

The drugs were concealed in jumbo sacks and transported to the jetty in a tricycle. In another incident, Eniola Muyideen and Bankole Shuaib were arrested with 137 blocks of cannabis weighing 71kg during a raid in Orile Imo, Ogun state.

NDLEA operatives in Taraba also seized 39,980 pills of tramadol from Abubakar Mohammed in Lankaviri village and arrested Apaji Vincent in Wukari with 131kg of cannabis sativa. Nwachukwuu Chinedu was apprehended in Abia state with 46.65kg of cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine, rohypnol, and N71,500 in cash. Additionally, 127.5kg of cannabis was recovered in Ondo state, and a female suspect named Chinasa Christopher was arrested in Kano with 400 bottles of codeine syrup.

The owner of a consignment of illicit drugs intercepted along Zaria-Kano road, Bakura Goni, was arrested in Lagos and flown to Kano to face charges.

The consignment, consisting of cannabis and tramadol weighing 73.8kg, was seized in a truck traveling from Lagos to Kano. Furthermore, during a raid in Edo state, 278kg of cannabis destined for Idoani in Ondo state was recovered in the Oloma-Okpe forest. A total of 3,065.255kg of the same psychoactive substances were seized.