The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 72-year-old grandmother, Christy Ejaro, and several others in connection with drug trafficking in Delta, Enugu, Lagos, and Kwara states.
NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, announced the arrests in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
According to Babafemi, Ejaro was apprehended on June 25 at Niger CAT area of Warri, Delta State, with several sachets of skunk packaged in retail sizes.
At Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, NDLEA operatives on Friday intercepted Chibuzor Emmanuel, a 38-year-old bar attendant based in Maputo, Mozambique.
“A search of Emmanuel’s luggage led to the discovery of 17 cardboard-size parcels of methamphetamine weighing 17.5 kilogrammes and three parcels of cocaine weighing 3.05 kilogrammes,” Babafemi said.
He added that Emmanuel had arrived from Johannesburg, South Africa, via Addis Ababa, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight. The drugs were concealed in bedsheets.
Similarly, another passenger on the same flight, 54-year-old Azu Kpodar, was arrested.
“When Azu, who arrived from Sao Paulo, Brazil, was searched, a liquid soap plastic container marked YPE was discovered in his luggage,” Babafemi said.
He noted that the substance tested positive for cocaine at the NDLEA forensic and chemical laboratory in Enugu. The liquid cocaine weighed 1.25 kilogrammes.
“The suspect, a toy vendor in Brinquedo, Sao Paulo, Brazil, claimed he purchased the substance while shopping for his wedding ceremony in Nigeria,” Babafemi stated.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Seme border in Lagos arrested 26-year-old Vode Jean-Luck, a Beninese national, on June 24.
“Jean-Luck was caught trying to smuggle 69 balls of skunk, a strain of cannabis, with a gross weight of 29.5kg from Benin Republic into Nigeria,” Babafemi said.
Meanwhile, in Kwara State, notorious drug dealer Bolanle Oladele, alias Iya Nafi, was arrested on June 25 during a raid in Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area. Various quantities of skunk, tramadol, and flunitrazepam were recovered from her.
NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of Delta, Kwara, Seme, and Enugu Commands for their efforts.
Marwa also praised all commands across the country for maintaining a balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction.
