A major breakthrough was recorded in Taraba State on Saturday, June 6, when NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, intercepted a truck conveying building materials from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Jalingo.
The agency said officers conducted a thorough search of the vehicle at Nukkai Timber Shade in Jalingo and uncovered a substantial cache of illicit drugs carefully hidden beneath the consignment. The truck’s assistant driver, 22-year-old Buhari Abdullahi, was subsequently arrested.
Items recovered from the vehicle included 320,840 capsules of tramadol, 600 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 4,500 Rohypnol tablets and 299 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup.
In Ebonyi State, operatives arrested 75-year-old Okebe Samuel in Okposi. According to the agency, the suspect was found in possession of 300 grams of skunk packaged in sachets and allegedly prepared for retail distribution to young people within the community.
In a separate operation in Imo State, NDLEA officers raided a known drug distribution point in Umulolo, Orlu, leading to the arrest of 32-year-old Chioma Okeke. During the raid, officers recovered eight kilograms of skunk.
The agency also carried out enforcement operations in Edo State, targeting identified drug hotspots across Benin City on June 2. The raids resulted in the arrest of four suspects, among them three women.
At Uyosa in Benin City, operatives arrested 24-year-old Chioma Igba and 22-year-old Precious Ozomah. Recovered from them were 176 grams of skunk, 65 grams of Loud and five grams of methamphetamine.
Another suspect, 21-year-old Anita Abraham, was apprehended along Agbor Road with 95 grams of Scottish Loud and 329 grams of Loud.
Elsewhere in Benin City, at Upper Mission, officers arrested 43-year-old Henry Okey, who was allegedly found with quantities of Loud, Colorado, Swinol and methamphetamine.
In Kano State, NDLEA operatives arrested 19-year-old Saifullahi Lawan in the Kafi area of Madobi on June 4. The suspect was reportedly caught with 40 blocks of skunk weighing 38 kilograms.
Meanwhile, in Gombe State, officers intercepted 28-year-old Ugwu Sabastine Ifebuchi near Dantiti Plaza in the Tumfure area on June 1. The agency said he was found carrying 15,000 capsules of tramadol.
Beyond its enforcement activities, the NDLEA said it sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) awareness campaign in schools across the country.
The sensitisation programme was conducted for students and staff of Holiness Foundation Primary School, Saki, Oyo State; Dorras High School, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State; Ado Girls Secondary School, Onitsha, Anambra State; and Army Day Secondary School, Kano State, among others.
Reacting to the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers and personnel of the Taraba, Ebonyi, Imo, Edo, Kano and Gombe State commands for their vigilance and dedication.
Marwa also praised officers nationwide for effectively combining drug supply reduction efforts with drug demand reduction initiatives, stressing that the agency remains determined to dismantle drug trafficking networks across the country.
He reiterated that the NDLEA would continue to pursue traffickers irrespective of their age, gender or the methods used to conceal illegal substances.