NDLEA busts five-member female drug gang, intercepts N2.2b codeine

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted N2.2 billion worth of codeine bottles at the Lagos port. The agency also smashed a five-member female drug trafficking gang and arrested two individuals for selling drug-laced cookies and cakes online in Edo State.

The arrests were revealed in a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi on Sunday, August 25, 2024.

According to the statement, the five female drug traffickers were arrested at the Seme border by NDLEA operatives while returning from Ghana. The leader of the syndicate, Olaribigbe Bashirat Feyisara, and her gang were apprehended with 14 packs of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 6.97 kg.

Babafemi added that also at the Tincan seaport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted two containers from India, containing 1,596 cartons of codeine-based syrup valued at over N2.2 billion.

In another major bust, a businessman based in Onitsha, Anambra State, Ibeanusi Solomon Nosike, excreted 68 wraps of cocaine after 12 days under observation following his arrest by the NDLEA at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The 36-year-old was caught attempting to board a flight from Lagos to Abuja, where he was scheduled to fly to Vietnam on a Qatar Airways flight.

Nosike had arrived in Lagos from Onitsha the day before his arrest, swallowing 68 wraps of cocaine at a hotel before heading to the airport for a 6:30 a.m. flight. He was apprehended and held for 12 days as he excreted 1.282 kilograms of cocaine.

In a related case, another businessman, Paul Okwuy Mbadugha, 54, was arrested at the Abuja airport during outward clearance for a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam. Mbadugha was placed under observation and excreted 88 wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.710 kilograms, over four days.

In a separate operation, Onitsha-based businessman Aligbo Chukwudi Jacob was arrested following the seizure of a consignment of 1.20 kg of cannabis hidden in a shipment bound for Dubai. The consignment was intercepted at the Lagos airport, leading to Aligbo’s arrest after follow-up investigations.

In Edo State, two women, Martha Owotorofa, 26, and Odion Uzordinma, 21, were arrested for selling drug-laced cookies and cakes online. A separate raid in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area led to the arrest of Saturday Edobor, 50, with 288.8 kg of cannabis.

Other arrests included Godwill Davidson in Lagos, caught with 3,834 bottles of codeine syrup and other drugs, and Yahaya Ibrahim in Kogi State, found with 42,000 pills of tramadol.

The NDLEA also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) program, with sensitization activities in schools, workplaces, and communities across the country.

Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers for their efforts in combating drug trafficking and urged them to continue their balanced approach to drug control.