Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) through its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi have reportedly announced the arrested of a 19-year-old student, Nnamani Daberechi, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport for attempting to export 7.2 kilograms of methamphetamine, popularly known as Mkpuru Mmiri, which was concealed in crayfish. Babafemi revealed that Daberechi was intercepted on 15th July 2023, during an outward clearance of passengers on Turkish Airlines flight TK 0624 by the NDLEA on his way to Europe for his undergraduate studies.
“While being interviewed by operatives, Daberechi claimed he was a student on his way to Cyprus for studies, but upon a thorough search of his luggage, he was found in possession of 7.2kg of whitish substance neatly concealed inside a sack of crayfish. A field test of the substance however proved positive for Methamphetamine. he said.
"Similarly, operatives of the Tincan Port Command of the Agency on Tuesday 11th July intercepted 116.5kg consignment of Colorado, a strong strain of cannabis concealed in bags hidden in a heap of used vehicles parts on the floor of a container marked FCIU 8459700, bearing three units of used vehicles imported from Toronto, Canada.
"Based on intelligence, the Agency had requested a 100 percent examination of the container which arrived at the TICT terminal of the port on 14th June.
“A joint examination with the Nigeria Customs, DSS, and other stakeholders on Tuesday 11th July, however, led to the discovery of 233 parcels of the illicit substance stashed inside traveling bags on the floor of the container, covered with used vehicles spare parts.
"Also attempts to export various quantities of illicit substances through courier companies were equally thwarted by NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigations, DOGI in Lagos. While 336 grams of skunk stuffed inside computer hard drives going to Dubai, UAE, were seized at a courier firm, a suspect, Ibrahim Analu, 28, was arrested at Iddo motor park, Lagos while attempting to send 151,700 pills of opioids to Kaduna.
"A total of 4.830kg skunk was also discovered at another courier firm in a shipment from Douala, Cameroon passing through Nigeria to Oman. The drug was concealed in 10 of 12 cans of palm fruit paste, locally called Banga, packed in a carton.
Meanwhile, a Lekki Lagos-based female lawyer, Ebikpolade Helen, who specializes in the production and distribution of skuchies, a mixture of cannabis, opioids, and black currant has been arrested in a follow-up operation in Awka, Anambra following an earlier seizure of 5kg cannabis and 12 bottles of prepared skuchies in her apartment at Lekki.
The statement said, while Abubakar Shuaibu was arrested on Thursday at Cappa, Mushin/Oshodi road with 86 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup weighing 8.6 liters in his Toyota bus marked FFA 241YB, two other suspects: Razak Ogunbo and Adeola Idowu were nabbed Tuesday at Ikorodu with 51 liters of skuchies.
This is even as 372kg cannabis sativa and 48 bottles of skuchies measuring 48 liters were recovered from the home of a fleeing drug dealer at Akala, Mushin Lagos on 12th July, while in Ondo, operatives stormed a building at Ehin-Ala, Akure South LGA where they arrested one Abubakar Zayanu Gyambar with 162 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 1,944 kilograms and another suspect, Henry Wilson was nabbed at Ogume town, Ndokwa West LGA, Delta with same substance weighing 216.5kg.
