Men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested members of an online drug trafficking cartel that sells drugged cookies, cakes, brownies and other illicit substances to residents of Abuja and beyond.
The agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday titled: ‘NDLEA busts online drug trafficking cartel, arrests five in Abuja’.
The statement read in part, “As a result, five members of the organised drug criminal group were arrested during sting operations carried out between Friday, May 7 and Saturday, May 8, 2021 by officers of the FCT Command of the agency during which different brands of illicit drugs were recovered from them.
“The nabbed drug dealers include Queen Nvene, Collins Ozoemena, Samson Peter, Chika Nvene and Habila Musa.
“The group specialises in clandestine production of drug-based cookies, brownies and other edibles; markets and sells same online through Twitter and Instagram handles.
“It also markets and sells all types of marijuana, Arizona, Colorado and Loud, among other illicit drugs, online.”
According to the NDLEA spokesman, while one of the Nvenes, a graduate of Business Administration, produces drugged cookies and brownies and sells same on Instagram, Ozoemena sells all types of illicit drugs, especially Loud and skunk, online.
Peter was said to be the manager of SK Express Courier Company, which manages motorcycles and dispatch riders to deliver illicit drugs from Ozoemena and drugged edibles from Queen and Chika, who are sisters.
The statement added, “Members of the cartel operate from different locations within the Federal Capital Territory, but operate as a network.
“Their arrest followed online orders of drug-based edibles by undercover agents. Supplies of brownies and cookies were delivered and received from different SK Express dispatch riders at various times by narcotic operatives before the final sting operation.”
The statement quoted the agency’s commander for the FCT command, Mohammed Sokoto, as saying that follow up raids of various locations in Gudu, Kubwa, Lokogoma, Apo and Damangazo in the FCT led to the seizure of some illicit substances.
Seized from Queen were 55 pieces of drugged cookies and brownies; 1.3 kilogrammes of skunk used as ingredient for making cookies and brownies; while 300 grammes of skunk were seized from Chika.
From Collins, 0.9 grammes of ecstasy, popularly called molley; 300 grammes of skunk and 200 grammes of Loud were recovered.
Other items recovered from the syndicate include a dispatch motorcycle, various equipment for producing cookies and brownies, 10 mobile telephones and two laptops used for online drug trafficking transactions.
Under interrogation, the suspects confessed to have a large platform of customers, who order drugs and drug-based cookies, brownies and edibles on a daily basis for parties and ceremonies in and outside Abuja.
Meanwhile, operatives in the Ondo State Command have seized 60kg of cannabis sativa following intelligence.
In the process, 29-year-old Emmanuel Utaji was arrested on Matado Street, Akure, in the Akure South Local Government Area of the state.
