Among the 24 individuals apprehended last week by agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in a drug enforcement actions were a woman six months into her pregnancy, a mother with three kids, three additional females, and a man aged 42, all suspected of involvement in drug trafficking and dealing.
Law enforcement captured over 7,609 kilograms of various illegal narcotics across eight states. Femi Babafemi, the agency's spokesperson, indicated that a significant quantity of the hidden opioid tablets was being transported to the stronghold of insurgents or terrorists located in the Banki region of Borno State.
He mentioned that the majority of the confiscated items were recovered in Nasarawa State, after agents from the NDLEA, following reliable information on the 4th of February, stopped a truck bearing the license plate, Lagos JJJ 64 YC. This vehicle was transporting 367 large bags of cannabis sativa with a total weight of 4,037 kilograms, originating from Akure in Ondo State and destined for the Shabu region in Lafia, the capital of the state.
"Three individuals, namely 35-year-old Shuaibu Liman, 33-year-old Monday Audu, and 42-year-old Linus Samuel, were apprehended for their involvement with the confiscation."
The next day, on February 5th, two individuals named Jibrin Shuaibu, age 23, and Prosper Innih, age 17, were apprehended by agents in Abuja, FCT. They were found in possession of 169 bags and 80 bricks of compressed cannabis sativa, totaling 1,961.5 kilograms, hidden inside a truck bearing the license plate Ogun WDE 557 XC.
During a checkpoint inspection on the Abaji-Abuja highway while en route from Uzeba to Dei-Dei in the FCT, the truck was halted and examined.
During a separate action in Abuja on February 6, the NDLEA agents apprehended a 27-year-old individual named Abdulhameed Dauda. He was caught transporting 89 kilograms of the identical mind-altering drug in his truck from Owo in Ondo state, destined for delivery in Gwagwalada within the Federal Capital Territory.
On that day, agents also stopped Hassan Ade, a 30-year-old driver, who was transporting 696.5 kilograms of the same material, which was picked up in Idoani, Ondo State, and was meant to be delivered in Gwagwalada and Dei-Dei within the Federal Capital Territory. A subsequent operation resulted in the capture of a woman who is a mother to three, 42-year-old Mrs. Joy Chukwuka, who was connected to the shipment.
In Ondo State, apart from confiscating 633.5 kilograms of marijuana at Eleyere, Ogbese in the Akure North Local Government Area, agents of the NDLEA also intercepted 59 large sacks of the same drug that were being transported in a truck bearing the license plate GAD 287 XA, which was en route to the northern region of the country.
Detergents were sprayed onto the cannabis packages, purportedly to mask the smell of the narcotic herb, while 192 cases of bottled water were stacked above to disguise the illegal shipment.
