The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an 80-year-old grandpa, businesswoman, couple and Chadian woman in Edo, Kogi, Rivers interdiction.
This was disclosed by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
Babafemi said operatives of the agency in Rivers State arrested the 80-year-old suspect for allegedly dealing in illicit drugs.
He said the octogenarian was apprehended at Ahoada on Tuesday, July 14, with 800 grams of skunk in his possession.
In another operation, Babafemi said a Chadian woman and her Nigerian accomplice were arrested in Lagos after NDLEA operatives intercepted 50,000 pills of tramadol 225mg in Kogi State on Sunday, July 12.
According to him, investigations linked the consignment to the two suspects, who were subsequently tracked to the Apapa area of Lagos and arrested.
The NDLEA spokesman also said operatives intercepted two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing a combined 4.70 kilograms at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja.
He explained that the consignments arrived from Canada aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on June 24 and July 3, concealed in cartons boldly labelled “Odugwu.”
Babafemi said two cargo agents connected to the shipments were initially arrested before another suspect, who came to collect the consignments from a logistics company, was also apprehended.
He added that a 44-year-old businesswoman, identified as the owner of the consignments, was later arrested on July 7 in collaboration with the Area C Command of the Nigeria Police, Surulere.
According to Babafemi, the suspect, who claimed to be in the printing business, confessed that a friend based in Canada introduced her to the drug trade.
In Edo State, Babafemi said a couple were arrested on Monday after NDLEA operatives raided their suspected drug warehouse along Sapele Road in Benin City.
He said the operation led to the recovery of 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5 kilograms and compressed blocks of Canadian Loud with a gross weight of 192.67 kilograms.
Babafemi said the Chairman of the NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, commended officers and men of the MMIA, Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Kogi Commands for the successful arrests and seizures.
He quoted Marwa as saying that the operations had significantly strengthened the agency’s ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking across the country.
Babafemi urged the officers to remain vigilant in the discharge of their duties.