Intercepts 1,559.3kg Colorado at Tincan port, 648,050 pills of opioids in Lagos, Imo, Taraba
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 34-year-old South American man from Suriname, Dadda Lorenzo Harvy Albert, at Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for bringing into Nigeria 117 parcels of cocaine concealed in extra-large latex condoms factory packed inside bottles of 100ml body spray.
The suspect claimed he departed his country, Suriname, located in the North Eastern coast of South America on April 2, for São Paulo, Brazil and from Sao Paulo to Nigeria on Friday, April 7, 2023 on board Qatar Airways flight in search of his long-lost Nigerian father whom he called “Omini.”
Also, NDLEA officers at Tincan seaport in Lagos have intercepted 110 parcels of Colorado, a strain of Cannabis sativa, weighing 55kg, hidden in a container marked MSCU 4972769 from Toronto via Montreal, Canada.
Spokesperson for the Agency, in a statement, yesterday, said the illicit consignment was discovered in the container bearing five units of used vehicles, during a joint examination of the cargo by NDLEA and other port stakeholders.
According to him, the seizure was part of a total of 1,559.3 kilogrammes (1.5 tons) of the psychoactive substance seized during interdiction operations, in five states, in the past week.
He said: “While two suspects-Nura Ibrahim, 40, and Habibu Sadiq, 38- were arrested with 120 blocks of Cannabis sativa weighing 148.7kg along Zaria-Kano road, Kano on Sunday, April 2, not less than 418.5kg of the same substance and a Sienna space bus used in conveying it were recovered on Thursday, April 6, at a notorious drug hub, Patey, Lagos Island.
“A suspect, Azi Solomon, was arrested same day at Ojota garage, while attempting to move 23kg Cannabis sativa to another state. Similarly, two suspects- Abubakar Abdulahi and Stanley Tobias- were arrested on Friday, April 7, with 108,000 tablets of tramadol at Oyingbo motor park in Lagos mainland.
“In Imo, NDLEA operatives on routine patrol along Owerri – Onitsha expressway intercepted a commercial bus from which a total of 37, 210 pills of opioids and 30 bottles of codeine syrup were recovered and three suspects arrested in follow up operations. A total of 40.9kg Cannabis sativa was sized from two suspects: Haruna Adamu, 32, and Salisu Ibrahim, 30, in parts of Taraba, just as 502, 840 pills of tramadol and exol-5 were recovered from a suspect, Imrana Aliyu in Wukari on Thursday, April 6, while 205.6kg was recovered from the home of a fleeing suspect in Gida Dubu area of Bauchi metropolis.
“The Sokoto State Command of the Agency also received 667.6kg Cannabis sativa seized by men of the Customs Service along the Illela-Niger Republic border.”
MEANWHILE, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Retd) has commended the officers and men of PHIA, Tincan, Kano, Lagos, Imo, Taraba, Bauchi, and Sokoto Commands of the Agency for their vigilance and professionalism. He urged them and their peers across the country to maintain the current momentum in their drug supply and demand reduction efforts, and even strive to exceed set targets.
