NDLEA Arrests S. African Woman with Thai Loud at P. Harcourt Airport, Seizes Drugs from Pakistan, UK in Lagos
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a South African woman at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State, with 32.74 kilogrammes of Thai Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, while intercepting 307.20 kilogrammes of Tapentadol tablets from Pakistan and 75.90 kilogrammes of Colorado, a synthetic cannabinoid, from the United Kingdom at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The South African, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, was arrested by NDLEA operatives working with officers of the Nigeria Customs Service at the Port Harcourt Airport in Omagwa, with 30 parcels of Thai Loud concealed in two travelling bags. She had travelled from Thailand through Doha, Qatar, aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431.
The latest seizures and arrests were disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, who said the operations were part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to disrupt drug trafficking networks across the country.
According to the statement, Jessie confessed to having previously trafficked drugs through other African countries and said she was expanding her routes to Port Harcourt when she was arrested.
At the import shed of the Lagos Airport, NDLEA operatives intercepted a consignment of nine cartons shipped from Pakistan aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight.
The shipment, which arrived on September 29 and was placed under surveillance, was examined jointly by relevant officers on Tuesday, October 6, leading to the discovery of 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg weighing 307.20 kilogrammes.
In another operation at the Lagos airport, operatives intercepted a consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom containing 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.90 kilogrammes.
The consignment, which arrived on September 29, was monitored before the drugs were found concealed in six Ghana-Must-Go bags.
A clearing agent, John Edrah, 54, was arrested on September 30, followed by Taofiq Ajibola, 54, an Uber driver, who was apprehended while collecting one of the bags at a logistics company in the Mafoluku area of Oshodi.
Adetunji Adebayo and Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, a clothing trader, were subsequently arrested when they arrived to collect the remaining five bags.
Ajibola reportedly told investigators that the drugs were sent by a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, while Dosunmu said his consignment came from another UK-based individual identified as Yusuf.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects and seized a combined 641 kilogrammes of cannabis in separate operations in Akure.
A 21-year-old suspect, Happy Endurance, was arrested at her hideout in the Shasha area of Akure on Monday, October 5, following a surveillance operation that led to the recovery of 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290 kilogrammes.
On the same day, operatives raided an apartment in Oba-Ile, Akure, where they arrested 42-year-old Tunde Adebayo and recovered 35 bags of cannabis weighing 351 kilogrammes.
In Taraba State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, arrested Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, at Chanchanji village in Wukari Local Government Area on Friday, October 9.
The operation led to the seizure of 166,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg weighing 107 kilogrammes.
In Kano State, a stop-and-search operation along the Kano-Maiduguri Road on the same day led to the arrest of 32-year-old Yahaya Musa.
Operatives recovered 24,990 capsules of Tramadol, 50,000 tablets of Diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5 from him.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway arrested 29-year-old Mohammed Musa with 31 jumbo bags and 775 blocks of cannabis, commonly known as skunk, weighing a combined 1,027 kilogrammes.
In Lagos, operatives arrested Musbau Balogun Adekunle in the Orile area on Tuesday, October 6, and recovered 32.51 kilogrammes of skunk and 52.65 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds, bringing the total seizure to 85.16 kilogrammes.
In Plateau State, NDLEA operatives recovered assorted firearms and ammunition alongside illicit drugs during a raid on the residence of 45-year-old Christian Chukwudi Uju at Rukuba Road, Jos, on Thursday, October 8.
The items recovered included 47 grammes of methamphetamine, two pump-action rifles, one locally made gun, 199 live cartridges, five rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one round of 9mm ammunition.
Meanwhile, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities during the week under review.
The outreach activities included enlightenment lectures for students and staff of Progressive Grammar School, Tede, Oyo State; Ehugbo Technical College, Afikpo, Ebonyi State; Baptist High School, Lambata, Niger State; and Madarasatul Tarbiyatul Islamiya, Galangalan Tudun Wada, Kano State.
Other beneficiary institutions included Ipara Senior and Junior Community Secondary School, Badagry, Lagos State, and Manbahu Ridwanullah Nursery and Primary School, Olomore, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers and men of the Lagos, MMIA, Port Harcourt International Airport, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Cross River, Ondo and Plateau commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven operations.
Marwa urged them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain what he described as a balanced approach to the agency’s drug control efforts.
