Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended a 43-year-old female make-up artist, Adekoya Adebukonla Mary, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos. Her arrest on Monday, June 16, was based on credible intelligence after 2.20 kilogrammes of cocaine were discovered factory-fitted into the walls of her bag. Adekoya, who claimed she was traveling to India for fibroid surgery, was placed under surveillance and allowed to check in her luggage before being arrested at the point of boarding her Qatar Airways flight to India via Doha.

During questioning, Adekoya confessed that her trip was for financial benefits, despite her initial pretext of seeking medical treatment for fibroid removal. Further investigation by the NDLEA revealed that she was recruited and funded by a drug baron identified as Akeem Ayinde Adekanbi, who is currently at large. Adekanbi reportedly owns Rockford Hotel in the Sango area of Ogun State and resides at Igbe Laara in the Igbogbo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.

Beyond this significant arrest, the NDLEA executed several other successful operations. At a courier company in Lagos on Thursday, June 19, operatives from the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted a shipment of sewn female dresses containing 1.3 kilogrammes of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, destined for Bahrain. The previous day, Wednesday, June 18, at another courier firm, 850 grammes of cocaine concealed in cloth hangers were uncovered, heading to Australia.

In Bauchi State, NDLEA officers arrested Ibrahim Galadima, 37, and Ibrahim Muhammed, 28, along the Bauchi-Darazo Road on Monday, June 16. From them, a total of 1,013,000 pills of various opioids, including tramadol, diazepam, and exol-5, were recovered. In Kaduna State, 38-year-old Bishir Isyaku was apprehended on Tuesday, June 17, at Gwargwaje along the Kaduna-Zaria expressway with 14.2 kilogrammes of skunk, concealed in two sacks of charcoal, and seven cartons of rubber solution weighing 198 kilogrammes.

Abuja also saw significant action, with NDLEA operatives arresting Murtala Adamu, Ahmed Ismai’l, and four other individuals during raid operations at Karu Abbattoir and Torabora areas of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Wednesday, June 18. These raids led to the recovery of 6.9 kilogrammes of skunk and 59 grammes of methamphetamine. In Kano, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Zaria-Kano Road on Thursday, June 19, arrested Umar Hamisu, 19, and Dahiru Abdullahi, 32, with 56.2 kilogrammes of skunk. On the same day, Obiwuru Henry, 27, was nabbed along Jaba Road, Fagge Local Government Area, with 23,720 capsules of tramadol and 1,400 ampoules of pentazocine. Furthermore, Abubakar Modu, 60, was arrested with 36.6 kilogrammes of skunk, and Abdulkadir Muhammed, 28, with 32 kilogrammes of the same substance along the Zaria-Kano Road on Saturday, June 21.

In Ilorin, Kwara State, 22-year-old Olotin Nifemi, a student of Kwara State Polytechnic notorious for selling illicit substances to other students, was arrested on Thursday, June 19, at her base along Kwara Poly road with 1 kilogramme of skunk. Edo State also witnessed extensive operations; on Friday, June 20, NDLEA operatives raided Ugbada Camp in Uzebba Forest, Owan West LGA, destroying 4,226.11 kilogrammes of skunk from cannabis farms, and arresting Albert Shamaki, 33. The same day, a raid on the Big Jamaya Supermarket at Emado community in Esan West Local Government Area led to the arrest of Esther Abumere, 28, and the recovery of assorted illicit drugs including Colorado, Loud, Molly, Tramadol, and other opioids. Another operation at a provision shop at Idumeka Igueben resulted in the seizure of 1.143 kilogrammes of skunk and the arrest of female suspect Eko Gift, 38.

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of the MMIA, DOGI, Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Edo, and FCT commands for their arrests and seizures over the past week. He also praised their counterparts nationwide for maintaining a balance between drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, continuing the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities across the country.