Men from a special team of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency stepped up their fight against drugs last week and over the weekend by arresting some drug kingpins in Lagos State and seizing drugs worth billions of naira.
In a statement given to the media on Sunday, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said this.
According to the statement, Ebele Nwankwo, the head of one of the syndicates, was arrested last Wednesday at her home, House 6, C Close, 3rd Avenue, Festac, Lagos, shortly after she came back from a warehouse at Plot 3432, Sola Akinsola Street, Divine Estate, Amuwo Odofin, where she loaded eight cartons of tramadol 225mg into an unmarked white Honda Pilot SUV.
Babafemi said that when they searched Nwankwo’s house and warehouse, they found 2,750,000 tramaking pills, which are 225mg and 250mg tramadol pills packed in 39 boxes that weigh 1,916 kg.
A spokesman for the office said, “The drugs and the SUV were found, and the suspect was taken into custody.”
He also said that in another operation, agents tracked a drug ring to Atlantic Nominee Estate in the Lekki-Ajah area of Lagos on Friday. There, Urama Chinemelum, 32, and Adelakun Oluade, 55, were loading a blue Toyota Highlander SUV with 8.49kg of cocaine and 10.3kg of Canadian Loud to sell.
He said that during a follow-up search at Chinemelum’s home at House 7, Road 7, Lagra Estate, Eti-Osa, Lagos, 18 more blocks of Loud weighing 18.5kg were found.
Babafemi said, “The next day, Saturday, August 5, members of the Special Unit went after another cartel involved in the importation, distribution, and diversion of ephedrine hydrochloride, a precursor chemical used to make methamphetamine. They did this because they knew that members of the cartel were planning to steal 25kg of the substance.”
“Two members of the gang, Udeh Ogbonna, 53, and Okonkwo Uzozie, 50, were caught at a commercial bus terminal in Jibowu, Yaba, Lagos, where they were trying to send the hidden drug to the South-East.
“$3,000 was found on Udeh Vincent Ogbonna after his body was searched along with the other two suspects.”
In activities in the states of Ogun, Ondo, Edo, and Nasarawa, workers from the NDLEA found more than 13,391.8 kg of skunk.
Together with members of the Nigerian Army, wanted drug dealer Lekan Jimoh (also known as Konmo Konmo) in the Ado Odo Ota area of Ogun State was able to hide 1,955 kg of the illegal substance in 139 giant bags in his warehouse. The bags were found on Saturday.