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Drug Baron, 2 Others Arrested As Narcotic Agency, NDLEA Intercepts Over N560Million UK-bound Drugs

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Charles Chinedu Ezeh, a suspected drug lord, and two others were detained by agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, after a large shipment of methamphetamine was intercepted at the SAHCO export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.

Freight agent Nwobodo Chidiebere and female suspect Chioma Lucy Akuta were identified as the other two apprehended individuals.

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This was disclosed in a statement issued by the agency’s director of media and advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in Abuja on Sunday.

Babafemi observed that the shipment was concealed in receptacles containing powdered custard as part of a consignment en route to London, the United Kingdom.

On Tuesday, May 16, NDLEA agents at the airport discovered and seized a shipment of illicit drugs weighing 30.10 kilogrammes and having a street value of N567 million, according to a statement.

The statement reads, “tions of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted a large shipment of methamphetamine concealed in powdered custard containers as part of a consolidated cargo bound for London, United Kingdom, at the SAHCO export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.

“On Tuesday, May 16th, NDLEA agents discovered and impounded a shipment of illicit drugs weighing 30.10 kilogrammes with an estimated street value of N567 million.

“This was swiftly followed by a series of follow-up operations that led to the arrest of a goods agent, Nwobodo Chidiebere, a female suspect, Chioma Lucy Akuta, and ultimately the drug lord behind the shipment, Charles Chinedu Ezeh, who was arrested on Thursday, May 18th, at Sotel Suites, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.

“Ezeh claims to be a businessman who trades in articles in Onitsha, Anambra State, but investigations reveal he lived in London with his wife and children until December 10, 2022, when he fled to Nigeria after committing a drug-related crime in the United Kingdom.

“Although he claimed to have been living in hotels since his return to Nigeria in December, operatives were able to locate his mansion at No. 1 Hawawu Abikan Street, Lekki, on Friday, May 19, where they conducted a search and recovered his travel and property documents, among others.

“Meanwhile, NDLEA agents in Adamawa apprehended a 32-year-old notorious drug dealer, Prince Ikechukwu Uzoma, with 1 kilogramme of skunk on Monday, May 15. Ikechukwu had previously been detained and convicted twice for the same offence.

“In 2017, he was sentenced to six months in prison, and in 2019, he was again sentenced to two years in prison.

“In a similar vein, a trans-border trafficker, Faisal Mohammed, 27, was arrested in Mubi on Wednesday, May 17, following the interception of a truck from Onitsha, Anambra State, in which a total of 2,376 sachets of tramadol containing 23,760 pills were found concealed in three blue rubber Jerrycans hidden underneath the trailer’s body. The suspect acknowledged that the opiates were destined for Cameroon.

“In Oyo State, two suspects, Osas Susan, 35, and Thomas Biodun, 23, were apprehended at Igbon, Gambari, in Ogbomoso North LGA, with 2.13kg of cannabis, while Idris Muhammed, 55, was apprehended with 4,500 tramadol pills when a commercial bus carrying him and other passengers was stopped and searched along the Lagos-Ibadan motorway.

Similarly, Bulus Mikah, 63, was apprehended in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, with over 5kg of opioids, including tramadol, diazepam, rohypnol, and exol-5, and a total of 965kg of cannabis was seized from Shehu Muhammadu Dandare, 25, in Maraban Jos, Igabi local government area.

10 suspects were arrested with a total of 5.587 kg of cannabis sativa, 144.4 grammes of methamphetamine, and 48,260 capsules of tramadol in different parts of Onitsha, Anambra State, on Friday, May 19th.

“In Kwara, two suspects, Mohammed Isa, 47, and Mohammed Haman, 36, were apprehended along the Ilorin/Lagos Road in a commercial bus on their way to Maiduguri, Borno State, with 6kg of cannabis, 50 grammes of methamphetamine, and 20 pieces of military camouflage caps and uniforms on Friday, May 19th. On the same day, agents in Jigawa State arrested 53-year-old Ibrahim Abdullahi with 120kg of cannabis in Sara town, Gwaram LGA.

“At least 628 ls of a new psychoactive substance, skuchies, were seized by agents during a raid on a drug den in Idanre, where four suspects were also apprehended. Olamide Olusola, 26, Abiodun Tijjani, 21, Fatope Temidayo, 29, Agba Obi, 30, and Olafisoye Festus, 26, are among them. Similarly, a 22-year-old suspect named Kayode Hakeem was apprehended in Hawan Dawaki, Kano, with 293 cannabis blocks weighing 211.6kg.”

“Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), has commended the officers and men of MMIA command for their professionalism and speed in tracking and arresting another drug kingpin, Ezeh Chinedu Charles. “He charged them and their counterparts in Adamawa, Oyo, Kaduna, Edo, Kwara, Jigawa, Ondo, and Kano, as well as those in other commands and formations across the country, not to rest on their laurels,” the statement continued.

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