A series of coordinated operations by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency across different parts of the country has led to the arrest of several suspected drug traffickers, including three persons living with disabilities, as authorities intensified efforts against illicit drug distribution.
The development was disclosed on Sunday in a statement issued by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to the statement, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence tracked 60-year-old Romanus Nwabara to Akpaka Forest in Onitsha, Anambra State, where he was arrested with 250 grams of skunk packaged in retail sachets.
In another operation at Ogbunike in Anambra State, officers arrested 25-year-old Amos Kenneth, also living with disability, after recovering 160.3 grams of Tramadol, 80 pills of Diazepam, 38.23 grams of Exol-5, and 176.93 grams of skunk from him.
Meanwhile, along the Bode Saadu corridor in Kwara State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a commercial vehicle during patrol and discovered 6.3 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a brown school bag belonging to a passenger identified as Usman Salisu, who is also living with disability.
The agency also recorded one of its biggest seizures in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, where operatives from the NDLEA Special Operations Unit raided a mansion allegedly being used as a drug storage facility.
During the operation, officers recovered 4,000 parcels of “Loud,” described as a potent imported strain of cannabis, weighing 2,326 kilograms and estimated to have a street value of more than N5.815 billion. Two Mercedes-Benz buses and designer packaging materials allegedly meant for retail distribution were also seized from the property.
Elsewhere, NDLEA officers arrested 38-year-old Emmanuel Osita Okeke in the Nyanya-Karu area of Nasarawa State with 129 kilograms of skunk.
On the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State, operatives intercepted a commuter bus heading to Abuja and recovered 76 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 766 kilograms. Three suspects — Mathew Omohove, Ebuka Desmond, and Babangida Musa — were arrested in connection with the seizure.
In another raid carried out at Ijora Badia in Lagos, operatives uncovered a makeshift skuchies production facility and arrested two suspects identified as Bose Jamiu and Gbenga Gege. The suspects were allegedly caught processing cannabis and mixing it with other illicit substances. Officers recovered 270 litres of the mixture, popularly known as skuchies, as well as 106 grams of Tramadol.
The agency added that its War Against Drug Abuse advocacy campaign has continued across schools, communities, workplaces, and traditional institutions nationwide, with sensitisation programmes recently conducted in states including Nasarawa, Ekiti, Enugu, Abia, Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Kano, and Oyo.
Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised their commitment to reducing the supply of illicit drugs while sustaining awareness campaigns against substance abuse.
He also urged officers across the country to remain steadfast in the ongoing fight against drug trafficking and abuse.
The latest arrests and seizures further reflect the scale of Nigeria’s drug trafficking challenge and the NDLEA’s determination to dismantle drug supply networks across the country.