NDLEA seizes N6.5bn opioids at ports, nabs two Brits

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted illicit drugs worth over N6.5 billion at seaports in Lagos and Rivers states, while also arresting two British nationals and several others in ongoing nationwide anti-narcotics operations.

According to a statement released on Sunday, by NDLEA’s Director of Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the drugs included six million pills of opioids and 332,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup were seized at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, and Apapa seaport in Lagos.

The seizures followed intelligence-led operations and careful tracking of new smuggling routes.

At Port Harcourt, the NDLEA, working alongside Nigeria Customs and other agencies, uncovered two containers with the bulk of the shipment during joint inspections on May 19 and 20. Similarly, 170,000 bottles of codeine were found in a container at Apapa port on May 22.

In a related operation, two British nationals by name Mhizha Jordan Alexander Tatendra and Ayedipe Andrew Adejuwon and two Nigerians were arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, while attempting to smuggle 92 bags of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 51.10kg into Nigeria.

Alexander was arrested upon arrival from Doha via Qatar Airways on May 15, and was closely monitored until the drugs were traced to Adejuwon and others were waiting in an SUV. A follow-up raid at their Lekki apartment led to further cash seizures and drug-related materials, including laughing gas canisters.

Read also: NDLEA seizes N3.2bn drugs, nabs 80-year-olds, students in nationwide raid

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives destroyed 77,000kg of cannabis found on farms in Cross River and Edo states. In Nasarawa, 4,000kg of skunk hidden under unprocessed wood was seized, and several arrests were made across Kaduna, Bauchi, Yobe, Niger, and Lagos for trafficking various narcotics including tramadol, Colorado, methamphetamine, and cocaine.

The NDLEA also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, with sensitization programs held across schools in Katsina, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Adamawa, and Kano states.

Commending the agency’s officers, NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their balance of supply and demand reduction efforts, emphasizing the agency’s resolve to clamp down on cross-border and domestic drug trafficking networks.