Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted consignments of cocaine and meth at the Lagos and Abuja airports.
According to the NDLEA, the illicit drugs seized included cocaine, methamphetamine and its precursor chemical, ephedrine.
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As disclosed by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a statement he issued on Sunday, February 19, the drugs were on their way to the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand and Cyprus through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
“At least, three traders at the Trade Fair Complex in the Ojo area of Lagos – Nwudele Basil Christopher, Chiedu Ezenwani Francis, and Donatus Nwojiji – have been arrested in connection with attempts to export 52.10 kilograms of ephedrine, a precursor chemical and active ingredient for the production of methamphetamine, concealed in bunches of fishing threads and packed among other items in jumbo sacks that were intercepted at the SAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport on Sunday 31st January and Monday 1st February.
Photo credit: NDLEA
“It took the painstaking efforts of NDLEA officers and deployment of sniffer dogs to be able to discover the complex mode of concealment of the illicit substance,” the NDLEA stated.
The agency said that on Monday, February 13, its operatives also, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, intercepted 29-year-old Apeh Kelvin Ogbonna while he was attempting to board Turkish airline flight TK0624 going through Istanbul to Cyprus, with 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in the false bottoms of his travelling bag.
Photo credit: NDLEA
The anti-narcotic agency said the suspect claimed he was running a boutique in Enugu before he decided to travel to Cyprus for a degree in Business Administration.
The NDLEA added that its operatives also intercepted three different courier firms in Lagos and seized two cocaine consignments weighing 400 grams each, hidden in walls of cartons used for packaging going to the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance