Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, have announced the arrest of one Simon Peter Oguejiofor, who was returning from Thailand for alleged importation of 13.30 kilograms of heroin worth over N3.192bn.
The suspect was said to have been arrested on October 7, 2024, while an attempt was made to take into the country the contraband drugs, which were kept in six backpacks and then packed into two big suitcases.
The arrest was confirmed in a statement made public on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi. He explained that the suspect had left Thailand on the 3rd of Cotobeer, boarding a Qatar Airways flight and stopping over in Doha, where he spent two days before heading to Lagos. He explained that his luggage was routed to Accra, Ghana, his original destination.
He also noted that the after arriving in Lagos on October 5, he contacted the airline to reroute his luggage to Nigeria so that he could pick them up as rush bags in a bit to beat security checks. However, the NDLEA officers intercepted him at the point of exit.
He also confirmed that the suspect had told the NDLEA that he was given $7,000 to peddle the drugs to Nigeria and Ghana.
In other operations, the spokesperson confirmed that the operatives were able to intercept large consignments of opioids with a combined monetary value of N22,7bn.
He explained that a total of 32,607,900 pills of tramadol worth over N12,577,000,000 and 1,451,994 bottles of codeine-based syrup with a street value of N10,163,958,000 were intercepted at the Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa seaport in Lagos and Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers state.
The statement further noted that the combined monetary value of the seized opioids comes to N22,740,958,000. The location of the seizure, according to the spokesperson, noted that the illicit consignments were seized from containers watched and listed by the NDLEA based on intelligence and processed for 100 per cent joint examination with men of the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies at the three seaports between October 7 and 11, 2024.
According to him, the operatives arrested a 29-year-old man, Okelue Chiders, with 50,000 tablets of tramadol in Anambra State and a 38-year-old man, Monday Akele, in Edo State with 70 bags of the psychoactive substance weighing 1,050kg.
He noted that in another operation, the NDLEA in Anambra on Saturday, October 12, arrested a suspect, Okelue Chidera, 29, with 50,000 tablets of tramadol 200mg at Upper Iweka, Onitsha.
The operatives, after a successful raid in Edo state, arrested a cannabis transit and loading point at Aviose, Owan West LGA. In the operation, it was disclosed that the 70 bags of the psychoactive substance weighing 1,050kg were recovered, while the operatives took the suspect Monday Akele, 38, into custody on Friday, October 11, while in another raid, Owan Village, Ovia North East LGA, the operative took 110kg of same substance was seized.
