…Seizes 18.5kg of cannabis at MMIA, arrest freight agent
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully intercepted multiple shipments of illegal drugs disguised in Cerelac baby food tins and clothing, bound for the United States and the United Kingdom.
The operation took place at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) and a courier company in Lagos.
The NDLEA reported that 36 parcels of a highly potent strain of cannabis, weighing a total of 18.50 kilograms, were discovered in six cartons of Nestle Cerelac baby food tins, with six tins in each carton.
The discovery was made at the SAHCOL export shed at Lagos airport on Wednesday as disclosed by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday. He stated that Salaudeen Suliat Abiola, a freight agent who attempted to export the consignment to the UK, was arrested.
A subsequent operation in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Saturday led to the arrest of the sender, Bello Motunrayo Folu.
The cannabis was hidden in factory-sealed Cerelac tins, with the bottoms altered to conceal the drugs and covered with loose cereal to evade detection.
In addition, NDLEA operatives seized five separate shipments of opioids and psychoactive drugs, such as promethazine, pentazocine, diazepam, tramadol, and morphine. These were concealed in clothing and other items meant for export to the US and UK and were intercepted in Lagos.
Babafemi noted that one of the shipments, containing 820 grams of promethazine and pentazocine injections, was headed to the US, while the remaining four parcels, totaling over two kilograms of opioids like tramadol 225mg and NPS, were destined for the UK. These shipments were intercepted on Monday, July 29, at a logistics firm in Lagos.
In another operation, NDLEA agents at the Tincan port in Lagos seized 77 packages of Canadian Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain, from the body compartments of four imported vehicles—Toyota Highlander, Ford Explorer, Toyota Corolla, and Toyota Sienna—from Canada.
This operation was conducted jointly with the Customs Service and other stakeholders. The total weight of the seized drugs was 38.5 kilograms. Two suspects, Salami Abiodun Sunday, 34, and Lekan Atoyebi, 33, tasked with clearing the shipments, were arrested.
Additionally, Isiagu Sunday was arrested in Mushin Ojuoye, Lagos, on Thursday, August 1, with 1,740 bottles of codeine syrup (totaling 174 litres) and 1,070 molly tablets (weighing 600 grams).
In Isuada, Owo Council Area of Ondo State, 50 bags of cannabis, weighing 520 kilograms, were recovered, and five suspects were detained in Itaogbolu Forest, Akure North LG Area. The suspects include Jimoh Omotosho, 63; Donald Obi, 62; Emmanuel Patrick, 21; Kayode Oluwaseun, 39; and John Nsikan, 34, connected to the seizure of 42 kilograms of cannabis.
In Edo State, authorities confiscated 22.5 bags of cannabis weighing 220 kilograms in Egbeta Community, Ovia North East Area, on Tuesday, July 30, arresting a suspect, Osayede Aghoma. Another suspect, Ibrahim Abubakar, 55, was apprehended on Wednesday, July 31, with 40 blocks of cannabis weighing 19.2 kilograms along the Okene-Lokoja highway in a commercial bus travelling from Lagos to Kano.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the officers and personnel from MMIA, Kogi, Edo, Ondo, Lagos, and Tincan Commands, and those of DOGI, for their diligence in these arrests and seizures.
Marwa praised their efforts in curbing drug trafficking while balancing WADA awareness activities, urging them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain their dedication and momentum.