…intercepts Colos consignment in boxing kits
Operatives of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested female bandits supplier with cache of ammunition, 11 others over three tons of illicit drugs in raids across Kaduna, Lagos, Niger, Kogi, Kano, Borno, Osun states.
This came as the agency intercepted Colos consignment in boxing kits on New Year day.
NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday, said:
“NDLEA operatives, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos on New Year day, January 1, 2024, intercepted a consignment of Colorado, a very strong strain of cannabis, concealed in boxing kits imported from the United States of America.
“A weeklong intelligence-led operation to get the receiver arrested was consummated on January 6, following the successful tracking and arrest of 38-year-old Olorunfunmi Saheed Olakunle, who distributes the dangerous psychoactive substance to dealers across Lagos state.
“The consignment had arrived the country on January 1,via Cairo on Egypt Airlines flight marked as boxing kits.
“According to Saheed, he delivers such consignments to different recipients whenever his childhood friend, US-based Sagir Salami sends them. The latest shipment has a total weight of 1.80 kilograms.
Meanwhile, a 28-year-old female supplier of ammunition to bandits, Bilkisu Suleman came top on the list of 12 other suspects arrested by NDLEA operatives in new year interdiction operations in Kaduna, Lagos, Niger, Kogi, Kano, Borno, and Osun states.
“Bilkisu was arrested on January 3, by NDLEA officers on patrol along Zaria Kano expressway in possession of 249 rounds of 7.62 mm live ammunition concealed in a black nylon bag kept in her lady’s handbag.
“She was on her way to deliver the ammunition to an identified bandit in Kakumi village, Katsina state when she was nabbed after which she was transferred to the Kaduna state command of the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation.
“The military authorities at the Bonny camp cantonment in Lagos on January 2, transferred a suspect, Francis Suru, 37 and 63 jumbo bags of Ghana Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 2,104.2 kilograms and a truck to the Lagos state command of NDLEA.
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“The suspect and the drug exhibits were earlier intercepted by NDLEA officers on December 12, 2023, close to the gate of the military cantonment in Bonny Camp, Victoria Island. Some armed escorts however resorted to sporadic shooting to obstruct the operation, a development which attracted soldiers from the cantonment, who eventually intervened and took custody of the consignment and suspect before transferring them to the Agency.
“In the same vein, NDLEA operatives in Niger state on January 5, during a stop and search operation along Suleja-Kaduna road intercepted a J5 bus coming from Ondo state to Zaria, Kaduna state with 23 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5kg.
“Two suspects: Umar Musa, 26 and Isachiru Abubakar were arrested in connection with the seizure.
“While a female drug trafficker, Queen Onyema, 27, was arrested on January 6, in a commercial bus enroute Abuja along Okene-Lokoja expressway with 12 compressed blocks of cannabis weighing 4.6kg and 0.046kg designer drugs concealed in an indomie carton, another suspect Mubarak Sani, 20, was nabbed at Gadar Tamburawa area of Kano on January 1, with 445.9k kilograms of the same psychoactive substance.
“In Borno, four suspects: Zanna Alhaji Dala, 32; Musa Umar, 21; Mushe Ibrahim, 23, and Shehu Idris, 19 were arrested at Pomfomari bye pass area of the state with 60kg cannabis.
“Also, in Osun, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Osogbo-Ode Omu road on new year day, January 1, intercepted a consignment of illicit drugs sent through waybill from Lagos to Osogbo.
“A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Ibrahim Olawale, 43. The drugs recovered include: cannabis sativa 10.8kg; Loud 150grams; Colorado 19grams; Molly 5grams totalling 10.974kg. A digital scale, N18,000 monetary exhibit and customized wrapping papers for Colorado were also seized,” the statement added.
