NDLEA seizes 14,440kg skunk, arrests Lagos kingpin

By Obasola Olatunde 

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted more than 14,440 kilogrammes of skunk in coordinated operations across six states and arrested a wanted Lagos based drug baron believed to be a major player in the country’s cannabis distribution network.

The largest single recovery 11,135kg of processed skunk was made on November 11 in the Orita Apeje and Araromi-Okeodo forest reserve, Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State, following days of surveillance on a syndicate operating deep inside the forest.

The NDLEA Spokesperson, Femi Babafemi said the Osun operation also led to the seizure of two trucks used to move the consignments and the arrest of seven suspects identified as Lucky Abiodun, Julius Amos, Victor Ngbikili, Sunday Oduegwu, Ibrahim Akanni, Eze Godstime and Fred Ifeanyichukwu.

Significant seizures were also recorded in Edo State, where operatives recovered 1,902.1kg from different locations, including 184.1kg along a bush path at Oza/Igbanke road and 672kg evacuated from the Utese forest. Additional quantities were intercepted from two Mercedes Benz vehicles, with suspects Felix Edah and Lucky Abagha arrested in connection with the consignments.

In Ogun State, four suspects Micheal Okoh, Offor Agada, Raphael Nkemjika and Nwabueze Franklin were arrested with skunk and methamphetamine along the Ijebu Ode expressway, while in Taraba State, Danjuma Tukura and Wisdom Titus were taken into custody with 172kg and 84kg respectively. Adamawa operatives recovered 396,000 tramadol capsules from Ahmed Isyaku Nda at the Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola. Another operation in Nasarawa State led to the evacuation of 785kg of skunk from a warehouse in Asob Maraba Karu belonging to a dealer now on the run.

In Lagos, NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit achieved what officials described as a major breakthrough with the arrest of the wanted drug kingpin, Frank Chijioke Ibemesi, known as Chisco Bee, at Daisy Garden Hotel in Ago Palace Way, Isolo, in the early hours of November 15. A follow-up search at his warehouse on Pius Ezeobi Street, Isolo, yielded 1,762.8kg of Loud, neatly stacked in jumbo bags and cartons. Officers also recovered foreign currencies including $11,600, £2,000, €2,200 and 50 Canadian dollars.

Further enforcement in Kwara State saw the interception of a truck along the Ilorin Jebba expressway carrying 197 blocks of skunk and 155 cartons of rubber solution, leading to the arrest of the driver, Umar Yakubu. Another bus was stopped at Eiyenkonrin, Ilorin, with 20 blocks of skunk hidden inside a 50 litre jerry can, resulting in the arrest of Ibrahim Bello.

Babafemi noted that while enforcement operations intensified, NDLEA commands across the country also continued War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities. Schools visited include Government Day Secondary School in Birnin Ruwa, Zamfara; Holy Ghost Secondary School in Abakaliki, Ebonyi; Government Science Technical School in Ringim, Jigawa; City Girls Secondary School in Enugu; Randle Junior Secondary School in Surulere, Lagos; and Anglican Girls Grammar School in Obalende, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended operatives across the affected states and urged them to sustain what he described as a balanced, nationwide approach to drug control.