Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a consignment of cocaine cleverly concealed inside a body cream container and destined for Saudi Arabia.
The haul comprised 46 wraps of the illicit substance, weighing a total of 547 grams.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to Babafemi, the latest interception comes just a week after officials from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) uncovered 20 parcels of cocaine hidden within religious books also intended for export to Saudi Arabia through a logistics company based in Lagos.
“The recent seizure was made on Wednesday, April 23 at a courier firm in Lagos,” Babafemi stated.
He added, “Another consignment intercepted the same day includes: 1.8kg pentazocine injection and 60 grams bromazepam tablets heading to Canada.”
In a separate operation, NDLEA personnel stationed at the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, apprehended three Ghanaian women at the Gbaji checkpoint on Sunday, April 20. The trio was caught while attempting to bring a combined 4.8 kilograms of ‘Ghana Loud,’ a potent variety of cannabis, into Nigeria.
Babafemi identified the suspects as Haziza Zubairu, aged 42; Samirat Mustapha, aged 43; and Jamila Salifu, aged 26.
Elsewhere in Kano State, a 60-year-old grandmother, Safiya Shamsu, was arrested on Friday, April 25, in the Samegu area of Kumbotso Local Government Area with 5.6 kilograms of skunk, a highly potent strain of cannabis.
Additionally, Babafemi revealed that 35-year-old Muntari Labaran was also taken into custody after NDLEA officers seized 100 litres of codeine syrup from him in the Yelwa area of Dala Local Government Area.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided two cannabis farms in the Ugbodu community of Ovia North East Local Government Area on Thursday, April 24, leading to the destruction of 3,814.9 kilograms of skunk. During the operation, three suspects — Samuel Samson, 26; Daniel Peter, 20; and Abel Edah, 31 — were apprehended.
Meanwhile, activities under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative continued across the country over the past week. NDLEA officers conducted sensitisation sessions at several institutions, including Dan-Doro Community Arabic Secondary School in Doro, Katsina State; St. James Anglican School, Badariya in Kebbi State; and the Federal Government Girls College in Tambuwal, Sokoto State.
“Others are members of Oganiru age grade, Onitsha, Anambra, while the Lagos State Strategic Command of NDLEA paid WADA advocacy visit to the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, HRM Oba Kabir Adewale Shotobi, among others,” Babafemi said.
