Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered an alleged criminal syndicate accused of secretly planting illicit drugs inside the luggage of unsuspecting passengers at motor parks, while also recording multiple major drug seizures across the country.
The syndicate was exposed after NDLEA officers intercepted a Sienna bus travelling from Nnewi, Anambra State, to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). During the operation, officers recovered a package containing suspected methamphetamine weighing 467.7 grams concealed inside a black nylon bag hidden within a sack of clothes bearing the receiver’s phone number.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the intended recipient, Mrs. Gloria Peter, at Utako Motor Park in Abuja. She denied any knowledge or ownership of the package.
Further investigations resulted in the arrest of bus loaders in Nnewi, with one of them allegedly confessing that the drug package had been secretly placed inside the woman’s luggage on the instruction of the driver, identified as Abdurrazak Isah. The driver later implicated one of his passengers, Onyebuchi Victor Okoye, who was subsequently arrested.
In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested 38-year-old businesswoman Iwebema Ogechi Peace while she was preparing to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing, China.
During a search of her checked luggage, officers allegedly discovered four parcels of cocaine weighing 7.5 kilograms concealed in a specially constructed false compartment. The suspect reportedly claimed she frequently travelled to China to purchase goods for resale in Nigeria.
The agency also recorded one of its biggest seizures at the Apapa Port Complex, where a joint operation involving the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies intercepted a 40-foot container carrying 4,959 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis.
According to the agency, the container, which also contained two vehicles, had been under surveillance for several weeks after departing Toronto, Canada.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives arrested 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe in Lagos with 209.5 kilograms of Scottish Loud allegedly being transported to Enugu.
Three suspects, including two Beninese nationals, were also arrested after officers intercepted a truck carrying 558,900 pills of Tramadol concealed in a specially fabricated compartment while entering Nigeria through the Republic of Benin.
Additional operations led to the arrest of two suspects transporting 118 kilograms of skunk along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, while another raid in Amukoko, Lagos, resulted in the arrest of two women and the recovery of 28.8 kilograms of the same illicit substance.
Beyond enforcement activities, the NDLEA said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) awareness campaign across schools, workplaces, communities and religious centres nationwide.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers involved in the operations and urged personnel across the country to sustain the fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse.
