A 22-year-old woman, Amaka Ogonachukwu, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for allegedly attempting to smuggle wraps of cocaine to her boyfriend, Monday Imagbebenikaro, who was in the custody of the agency in Edo State, Punch Newspaper reports.
Ogonachukwu allegedly concealed the drug in cooked white rice for her boyfriend.
The NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, said the suspect’s boyfriend, Imagbebenikaro, was arrested along the Airport Road, Benin City, in the Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, for dealing in crack cocaine, cannabis sativa, and danabel (anabolic steroids).
Babafemi also noted that a total of 8,381,600 capsules and tablets of tramadol and 56,782 bottles of codeine were seized during raids on the Satellite Town and Alaba Rago areas of Lagos State.
The spokesperson said during a raid on Thursday, December 23, around the Satellite Town area, a drug kingpin, Ezekiel Ibe, was arrested and over 7,991,600 milligrams, 225mg and 100mg of tramadol tablets, and 390,000 capsules weighing 5,468.894 kilogrammes were recovered from his warehouse.
He added, “In another raid on Monday, December 20, following tasking surveillance in a notorious neighbourhood at Alaba Rago, Alaba area of Lagos, one Surajo Mohammed was arrested with 941.14kg cannabis, while 56,782 bottles of codeine were seized from the store of another drug lord still at large.”
“In a related development, an outbound passenger to Italy on a Turkish airline, Ovire Cyril, was arrested with 114 wraps of heroin with a gross weight of 1.80kg during a routine search at Gate “C’ Departure Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. The drugs were concealed inside the pockets of four jean trousers, packed in a black suitcase.”
“The suspect, who confessed that he was pushed into the crime by hardship after he lost his job, claimed he was promised €5,000 if he successfully delivered the consignment in Italy.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Marwa (retd), has said the agency confiscated hard drugs worth N60bn in the last two months as part of a nationwide campaign to stem the tide of illicit substance sales and consumption.
Marwa disclosed this on Sunday in Offa, Kwara State, at the third colloquium of Galaxy Clique, Offa.
Speaking on the topic, ‘Hard Drug Abuse and Insecurity: A Siamese Twins’, Marwa said 99 per cent of crimes committed in the country were under the influence of hard drugs.
The NDLEA boss, who was represented by the Kwara State Commander of the agency, Mr Kayode Babayeju, identified insecurity as a serious threat to the country and traced the root cause to drug abuse, which had become prevalent in the society.
He noted that criminals terrorising various communities were residents among the populace and urged people not to shield them.
“With a consistent nationwide campaign, it is possible to separate drug abuse from insecurity, notwithstanding the belief that they are Siamese twins. We need to talk to our youths to reduce drug abuse because insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery are linked to substance abuse,” Marwa said
