Mathew Amaechi
In a major breakthrough, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) seized a 40ft trailer loaded with 2,217.6 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, in Abuja. The interception occurred on Saturday, January 11, 2025, at an abandoned fuel station in Kagini, Kubwa area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
According to Femi Babafemi, Director of Media & Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters, in a statement released on Sunday, the agency’s operatives caught the skunk being distributed into six vehicles destined for some northern states.
Femi Babafemi, Director of Media & Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja, made this known in a statement issued on Sunday. Babafemi disclosed that the intelligence-led operation on January 11, 2025, led to the seizure of not only the large illicit consignment but also the trailer and the six vehicles: a Toyota Van, Toyota Camry, Toyota Sienna bus, JAC 4-wheel-drive Hilux truck, Toyota Corolla, and a Vento Passat.
He further stated that a suspect, 42-year-old Isaac Monday Desmond, was arrested by the agency, adding that the consignment was loaded into the trailer at Uzebba in the Owan local council area of Edo State at the time of the suspect’s arrest.
No fewer than 20 wraps of cocaine weighing 330 grams were recovered from a cargo going to Australia at a logistics firm in Lagos by officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) in NDLEA. The cocaine parcels were concealed within face cream containers in the shipment.
A total of 338,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup, worth more than 1,190,168,200 Naira in street value, were intercepted in two containers watch-listed by the agency following processed intelligence.
The illicit consignments were discovered during a joint examination of the containers by NDLEA operatives, Customs, and other security agencies on Thursday, January 9, and Friday, January 10, 2025, at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State.
In Lagos, the traditional chief priest of the Igunuko shrine, Alpha Beach Ajah Lekki, where 2,760 kg of skunk was recovered on October 25, 2024, Bariu Aliu (alias Malo) has been arrested by NDLEA operatives after a manhunt lasting over three months. Though two of his accomplices were arrested at the shrine last year and have since been charged and convicted, Bariu was said to be the leader of the syndicate.
A suspect, Habibu Ya’u (23), was nabbed by NDLEA officers who raided Gadar Tamburawa, Zaria Road, Kano, on Thursday, January 9, where they recovered 45 blocks of cannabis weighing 24.2 kg and 40,800 pills of opioids, including tramadol.”The NDLEA said this intelligence-led operation is a significant blow to illicit drug trafficking in the region.
