Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 42-year-old Angolan businessman, Mbala Dajou Abuba, at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, for attempting to traffic cocaine to Istanbul, Turkey.
Abuba, from Zaire Province in Angola, was apprehended on Tuesday, February 25, at the airport’s screening point while trying to board Egypt Air flight MS 880 to Istanbul via Cairo.
A body scan revealed he had ingested illicit drugs. Under excretion observation, Abuba expelled 120 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.829 kilogrammes in seven sessions. He claimed to have shifted from township delivery services in Angola to drug trafficking.
In a related operation, NDLEA operatives foiled an attempt by Okeke Ebuka Igwe, an auto parts dealer, to export 1.10kg of cocaine concealed in vehicle propellers through Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Igwe, who trades at ASPANDA Trade Fair Complex, Lagos, was arrested on Monday, February 24, following credible intelligence.
Another suspect, Ezechi Iyke Cyprian, was arrested on Sunday, February 23, with 5.40kg of cocaine while attempting to transport the drugs to Owerri, Imo State, in his Toyota Sienna. Weeks of surveillance by NDLEA’s special operations unit led to his capture.
At the Tincan seaport in Lagos, 128 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent cannabis strain, were discovered concealed in two mattresses in a Toyota Venza imported from Canada. The 63.75kg consignment, discovered on Friday, February 28, during a joint examination, led to the arrest of 44-year-old consignee, Bamidele Joseph.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives, supported by the military, destroyed over 50,000kg of cannabis on a 20-hectare farm in Ndokwa West Local Government Area on Thursday, February 27. Five suspects were arrested, including Augustine Subaru, 45, and Ukoba Malachukwu, 53.
Separately, a Mercedes Benz truck carrying 1,111kg of skunk was intercepted along Abraka-Orogun road. Meanwhile, in Edo State, a raid on Okpuje community on Saturday, March 1, uncovered 100 jumbo bags of skunk, weighing 1,409.5kg, and led to the arrest of two suspects.
Other arrests include Michael Omoloki, 46, with 58.5kg of skunk along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and Lawali Mohammed, a Beninese national, with tramadol and diazepam pills in Kwara.
Further operations in Osun, Zamfara, Borno, and Kano States resulted in the seizure of cannabis, tramadol, and other illicit substances.
