Abia State Government says a lawyer simply identified as Adaobi was arrested when a joint team of the personnel of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA; and the state Homeland Security, raided her house in Umuahia.
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Homeland Security, Mr Chukwunenye Alajemba who disclosed this during a press briefing Thursday in Umuahia, said the raid was conducted Wednesday night at the suspect’s residence located at Arochukwu by Calabar Street Umuahia.
According to him, the suspect who he alleged “is a drug lord, has been into hard drug business for a few decades.”
The SSA who was flanked by the Deputy Governor, Ikechukwu Emetu; and the State Commandant of NDLEA, Mr Amos Adelanwa, said the suspect who was arrested along side four other suspects, had been taken into custody.
“On February 14, before midnight, the Office of the Homeland Security, in collaboration with NDLEA personnel, conducted a successful joint operation on the premises of Adaobi at Arochukwu Street Umuahia.”
He said that the joint team seized a very large quantity of prohibited drugs including cocaine, cannabis, heroin and methamphetamine popularly known as nkpuri mmiri plus a cash of over N500,000.
The SSA gave a breakdown of the hard drugs seized during the raid to include: 321 sachets (500 grams) of dry weed; 314 wraps (400 grams) of loud; 105 grams of cocaine ; 37.8 grams of heroin; 129 grams of nkpuri mmiri, totalling about 1.217 kilograms of hard substances in all.
He also said that the joint team raided a notorious criminal hideout in Umuahia known as Down Below and arrested some suspected criminals.
Some quantities of narcotics, he said, were also confiscated during the raid.
The SSA who said that the State Government had declared war against every form of illegal drugs, advised parents to caution their children and wards against the use of narcotics.
Blaming the consumption of hard drugs for criminality and violent crimes in the state, the SSA said hard times awaited drug peddlers in the state.
Speaking at the briefing, the Deputy Governor, said that the raid was in line with the vow by the Governor Alex Otti-led administration to rid Abia State of every form of criminality.
Emetu noted with delight that the war against criminality in the state was already yielding fruits following the successful sanitisation of the Lokpa axis which had hitherto been a flash point for kidnappers.
“We have controlled kidnapping activities which were perpetrated around Lokpa area. “
He declared Abia unsafe for criminals, and warned drug peddlers to stay away from the state or brace up for the hard consequences.
“Abia is not a safe place for any criminal. If you are a drug kingpin, stay away from Abia. We don’t need you. You are not part of the development of Abia State. Drugs can’t develop the state.
“Those selling drugs in our local governments, time to leave Abia is now because if we come for you, nobody will be able to save you.”
