…As NDLEA Intercepts Drugs in Noodles at Lagos Airport
A Vietnam-bound businessman, Paul Okwuy Mbadugha, was arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja after testing positive for cocaine ingestion.
The 54-year-old was intercepted at the boarding gate on August 12, 2024, while preparing to board Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam, via Doha.
Following four days of observation, Mbadugha excreted 88 wraps of cocaine, totaling 1.710 kilograms. He claimed the cocaine pellets were given to him by a friend in Lagos for delivery in Vietnam, with a promised payment of $2,000.
In other NDLEA operations, officers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos seized 800 grams of synthetic cannabis, known as Loud, hidden in noodles destined for Congo.
The sender, Nnamani Sunday Sunny, a GSM handset dealer, was arrested at Alaba International Market.
Additionally, NDLEA operatives recovered a large shipment of Loud from Canada at Lagos airport.
Suspect Desalu Taophic Temitope was apprehended with six boxes containing a total of 65.80 kilograms of the drug, and claimed he and an accomplice were promised $10,000 for the shipment
In Port Harcourt, NDLEA agents seized 892,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup, valued at N6,246,800,000, from five containers at Onne Port Complex.
The bottles were packed in 5,337 cartons with a gross weight of 133,860 kilograms and were shipped from India.
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In Ekiti State on August 14, NDLEA operatives, along with the Nigerian Army and community youths, raided the Ise forest reserve and destroyed 21,800 kilograms of cannabis sativa across 20 hectares.
The following day, they intercepted a Sienna bus on the Onitsha-Enugu road, recovering 200.2 kilograms of cannabis and arresting the driver, Okoro Emmanuel.
Other recent arrests include Joseph Apeh and Diamond Nnabuike in Kano on August 12 with 145,400 tramadol pills, and 70-year-old Fidelis Egede with three others in Ogun State on August 13 for cultivating cannabis on six hectares.
In Abuja, NDLEA officers intercepted a truck on the Kwali-Gwagwalada expressway on August 13, recovering 30,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection and arresting Ifeanyi Sunday, Jeremiah Paul, and Edet Ubokobong.
In Niger State, Ifeanyi Chukwueze was arrested on August 15 in Kontagora with 28,500 tramadol pills hidden in a loudspeaker, while Abba Yakubu was caught in Kogi State on August 14 with 40,000 tramadol pills destined for Kontagora.
Also, Tochukwu Onah was arrested in Paparanda, Lokoja on August 15 with 1,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection.
