NDLEA detains businessman with 88 wraps of cocaine hidden in noodles at Lagos Airport
…Recovers N6.2bn worth of codeine bottles at Onne port
By Adeyanju Esther
Paul Okwuy Mbadugha, a businessman travelling to Vietnam, was apprehended by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operatives at Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja after testing positive for cocaine ingestion.
On Monday, August 12, 2024, the 54-year-old suspect was apprehended at the boarding gate of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja while preparing to board Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam, via Doha.
Following four days of observation, Mbadugha expelled 88 wraps of cocaine, totaling 1.710 kilograms.
This information was disclosed in a statement on Sunday by Director of media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi explained that he claimed to be a Lagos-based businessman who was instructed by a friend from the Isolo area to swallow the cocaine pellets for delivery in Vietnam, for which he was promised $2,000
Additionally, NDLEA officers at the export shed of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted a shipment of 800 grams of “Loud,” a synthetic strain of cannabis, hidden in noodles destined for Congo. A follow-up operation at Alaba International Market in the Ojo area of Lagos led to the arrest of the sender, Nnamani Sunday Sunny, who is involved in the GSM handset trade.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at Lagos airport recovered a large consignment of “Loud” imported from Canada. The suspect, Desalu Taophic Temitope, was arrested by anti-narcotic officers after arriving on an Air France flight with six boxes during a joint security examination at the arrival hall.
A total of 65.80 kilograms of the psychoactive substance were seized from four of the six suitcases. In his statement, Desalu revealed that he and an accomplice, who is currently at large, were promised $10,000 for the successful delivery of the shipment in Lagos.
Additionally, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, recovered 892,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup, with a street value of N6,246,800,000. The bottles were packed in 5,337 cartons, totaling 133,860 kilograms, and were shipped in five containers from India. The recovery occurred during a joint examination with Nigeria Customs and other port stakeholders on August 14 and 15, 2024.
In Ekiti State, on Wednesday, August 14, NDLEA operatives, supported by the Nigerian Army, other security agencies, and local youths, raided the Ise forest reserve at Saalaja camp in Ise-Ekiti, destroying 21,800 kilograms of cannabis sativa cultivated on 20 hectares of land. The following day, Thursday, August 15, NDLEA officers intercepted a Sienna bus marked SKA-24 AG along the Onitsha-Enugu road in Enugu, recovering 200.2 kilograms of cannabis and arresting the driver, Okoro Emmanuel, 41.
Furthermore, on Monday, August 12, Joseph Apeh, 45, and Diamond Nnabuike, 21, were arrested in the Gadar Tamburawa area of Kano with 145,400 pills of tramadol. In Ogun State, NDLEA operatives arrested 70-year-old Fidelis Egede and three others—Samuel Sylvanus, 31; Jato Samson, 33; and Francis Blessing, 28—on Tuesday, August 13, during a raid on a cannabis plantation spanning six hectares in Alaka village.
In Abuja, on Tuesday, August 13, NDLEA officers patrolling the Kwali-Gwagwalada expressway intercepted a truck and seized 30,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection. Three suspects—Ifeanyi Sunday, Jeremiah Paul, and Edet Ubokobong—were arrested in connection with the seizure.
In Niger State, on Thursday, August 15, Ifeanyi Chukwueze was apprehended in Kontagora town with 28,500 pills of tramadol concealed in a loudspeaker. Meanwhile, in Kogi State, on Wednesday, August 14, Abba Yakubu was caught with 40,000 pills of tramadol en route to Kontagora. Another suspect, Tochukwu Onah, 39, was arrested by NDLEA officers in Paparanda, Lokoja, on Thursday, August 15, 2024, with 1,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection.
Throughout the week, NDLEA Commands nationwide continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative with sensitization lectures and advocacy visits to various institutions, including worship centres, schools, workplaces, traditional rulers’ palaces, and communities. Notable activities included WADA sensitization lectures for students at the College of Nursing Science in Awgu, Enugu State, and traditional rulers in Umuahia North, Abia State. Advocacy visits were also made to the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunleye III, in Ondo State, and the Dein of Agbor, Dr. Benjamin Ikenchukwu Keagborekuzi I, in Delta State.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of the NAIA, MMIA, PHPC, FCT, Kogi, Ogun, Ekiti, Kano, Enugu, and Niger Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week.
Marwa also applauded their compatriots in all the commands across the country for intensifying the WADA sensitisation lectures and advocacy messages to every part of their areas of responsibility.
