NDLEA operatives intercepted a British national with 37.6kg of Loud at Lagos airport and seized tons of other illicit drugs across Nigeria, including skunk and codeine
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]peratives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have made significant drug seizures across Nigeria, including the interception of a 22-year-old British national, Campell Slifer, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
Also read: NDLEA seizes 10million Kg of drugs, arrests 57,000
Slifer was apprehended with two suitcases containing 35 parcels of Loud, a potent cannabis strain, weighing a total of 37.6 kilograms.
According to NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, Slifer, who has a prior conviction for drug trafficking and robbery in the UK, confessed to investigators that he was recruited in London to transport the drugs from Thailand to Nigeria.
In a related operation at a courier service hub in Lagos, NDLEA operatives also intercepted 1.1kg of Loud concealed within a pillow originating from Thailand.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a fuel tanker along the Suleja-Kaduna Road, along with three other vehicles, all transporting a substantial quantity of illicit drugs.
A total of 246 bags of skunk, weighing 3,047 kilograms, were seized. Four suspects were arrested in connection with this operation: Christopher Onyema (47), Benedict Etineruba Young (54), Chukwudi Ujue Jerry (30), and Mohammed Abdullahi Danasabe.
We remain committed to our mandate of combating drug trafficking and abuse in Nigeria and will continue to be vigilant at all entry and exit points, as well as within our communities.
The vehicles recovered include a Honda Odyssey bus marked YAB 667 CZ, a Gulf bus with registration number GWA 125 TQ, and another Honda Odyssey bus marked ABJ 230 CN.
Further successes were recorded in Bauchi State, where NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Bauchi-Gombe road intercepted a Toyota Tundra jeep marked RBC 111 DW.
The vehicle was found to be conveying 526 blocks of skunk weighing 505 kilograms. Two suspects, Isaac Onogure (37) and Ikechukwu Peter (44), were arrested.
In Kano State, a raid on a hideout in the Rijiyar Zaki area led to the recovery of 31 kegs containing 775 litres of codeine syrup. Two suspects, Hafizu Isa Uman (34) and Ismail Shehu (48), were apprehended.
At the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), NDLEA operatives arrested a woman, Ihensekhien Obehi, for attempting to smuggle cocaine to Iran using an unusual concealment method.
Obehi, disguised in a hijab, was intercepted on Sunday while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Iran via Doha. A search revealed three wraps of cocaine concealed in her private part, two parcels hidden in a false bottom of her handbag, and 67 pellets she had swallowed.
Also read: NDLEA arrests Thai woman, foils multiple drug smuggling attempts across Nigeria
After days of excretion observation, she expelled the 67 pellets. She claimed to have initially intended to swallow 70 pellets but resorted to hiding the remaining three in her private part. The total weight of the cocaine seized from Obehi amounted to 2.523 kilograms.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
