The leader of the Akarabata village in Ile-Ife, Ba’ale Ige Babatunde, 50, was taken into custody by agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Friday, July 5, 2024, together with five kilograms of fresh cannabis plants.
This comes shortly after agents raided the Lagos headquarters of a well-known cocaine syndicate led by Agbakoba John Mmadu and Agbakoba Ijeoma Chinwe, along with their associate Okoye Ifeoma Maryjane. There, they found substantial shipments of the class A drug intended for both local and export distribution.
The Agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, stated: “Months of intelligence collection and monitoring on the syndicate infamous for packaging, distributing, and trafficking cocaine within and outside of Nigeria preceded the raid executed by the Agency’s special operations force.
“The 54-year-old Agbakoba John Mmadu was arrested at Ago palace way, Okota while his wife, Agbakoba Ijeoma Chinwe, 39, and associate, Okoye Ifeoma Maryjane, 31, who doubles as their stash keeper, were nabbed at Plot 2205 Eugene Ndubisi close, Lilly Estate, Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos, all on Wednesday 3rd July 2024.
“While seven parcels of cocaine with a total weight of 7.652 kilograms were recovered from Mmadu at Ago palace way, not less than one hundred and twenty-two (122) compressed pellets of the same drug weighing 2.42kg were seized from the duo of Ijeoma and Ifeoma at Lilly Estate, bringing the total seizure to 10.1 kilograms valued at over N2.1 billion in street value.”
In a similar vein, 350 grams of cocaine were seized by NDLEA agents in Benue state on Thursday, July 4, at a checkpoint along Enugu Road, Otukpo. The illegal substance was packaged as a waybill parcel and hidden within an MP3 speaker.
Odeh Anthony, the owner, was apprehended after a prompt follow-up operation at Flight Motor Park in Otukpo. He is 25 years old.
On July 3, Yves Ahmat Gali, a Chadian, was taken into custody by NDLEA operatives during a stop and search operation along the Ngurore-Yola road in Adamawa state. The commercial bus was traveling from Kano to Yola.
The suspect was discovered in possession of nine plastic containers containing Loud, a potent cannabis strain weighing 5.200 kg, and a loud speaker that was used to hide 20 compacted blocks.
At Corpers Lodge in the Sumaila neighborhood of the city on Wednesday, July 3, corps apprehended 25-year-old Yusuf Abdulrahman, a young corps member, in possession of 1.250 kilograms of loud, Monday Ali, 49, and Jimoh Alewi, 37, were detained when NDLEA agents raided Ikota forest in Ifedore LGA, Ondo state. During a five-day operation that concluded on Monday, July 1, 42,500 kg of cannabis was destroyed on 17 hectares of farmland, and 73.5 kg of the same substance was recovered for the suspects’ prosecution.
On Saturday, July 6, NDLEA agents in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, detained Sanusi Mamman, 28, and Usaini Ibrahim, 20, who were in a car along Abaji-Gwagwalada carrying 1,132 bottles of codeine syrup, 13, 540 tramadol pills, 50,000 diazepam pills, and 59 rophynol pills.
The suspects stated that Onitsha, in the state of Anambra, was the source of the opioids.
Over the course of the last week, Commands and Formations of the Agency throughout the nation persisted in their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, and sensitization campaigns in a variety of settings, including neighborhoods, workplaces, places of worship, and schools.
Students from Community Grammar School (Junior), Aroro, Ibadan, Oyo state; Candy Secondary School, Agu Awka, Anambra state; and Community High School, Umuida, Enugu Ezike, Enugu state are among those who attended the WADA enlightenment session.
The WADA sensitization lecture hosted by Zone M Zonal Command of NDLEA at Sabo Motor Park, Kaduna, and students from the School for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Kofar Nasarawa, Kano state, are among the others.
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, thanked the officers and men of the Special Operations Unit, Osun, Benue, Ondo, Kano, and FCT Commands for the seizures and arrests.
He urged them and other citizens to keep up the pace, noting that their efforts to reduce the drug supply were well-balanced with WADA sensitization initiatives.
