Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Navy dismisses personnel for illegal drug possession

By Odita Sunday
10 March 2017   |   5:08 am
For allegedly being in possession of 14.55kilogrammes of Marijuana, a Nigerian Navy (NN) Seaman, Haruna Umar, has been dismissed from service. Umar was dismissed and handed over to operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency....

• NDLEA intercepts two peddlers, promises strict narcotic check at Kaduna airport

For allegedly being in possession of 14.55kilogrammes of Marijuana, a Nigerian Navy (NN) Seaman, Haruna Umar, has been dismissed from service.
Umar was dismissed and handed over to operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) after a court martial found him guilty of the offence. The suspect was arrested in June last year after he was caught with the drugs.

A statement signed by the spokesperson for the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT, Lieutenant Elizabeth Ibrahim, warned people not to transact any business with him as a military man.

She said: “On June 7, 2016, a Seaman H. Umar with force number X13555 was arrested for being in possession of about 14.55kg of illicit substance suspected to be canabis sativa.

“He was summarily tried and the legal review of the trial indicated that the accused was properly charged and due process was complied with during the trial. He was found guilty and the sentence of dismissal was awarded to him for peddling illicit drugs. Accordingly, the ex-rating was handed over to the NDLEA for necessary action.

“This is to inform the public that the ex-rating is no longer a member of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Anyone who transacts business with him does so at his or her own risk.”

Meanwhile, chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mr. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah, has given assurance of strict narcotic screening at the Kaduna airport. This, according to him, would help in preventing illicit movement of narcotic drugs by drug cartels.

Abdallah made the pledge following the interception of two suspected drug traffickers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja few hours to its closure on Wednesday with 2.150kg of heroin from Tanzania and 386 grammes of cocaine to Cambodia.

Preliminary investigation revealed that both suspects wanted to capitalize on the temporary relocation to Kaduna airport in moving narcotics at the Abuja airport but the NDLEA promptly arrested them. The suspects are currently under observation pending their arraignment in court.

NDLEA commander at the Abuja airport, Hamisu Lawan, said both suspects tested positive for narcotic ingestion during routine screening.In his words, “two suspected drug traffickers, Odogwu Augustine Ike, 57, caught with 110 wraps of heroin weighing 2.150kg from Tanzania on an Ethiopian airline flight and Lekwauwa Mark Otaka, 53, found to have inserted seven wraps of cocaine weighing 386 grammes into his anus on an Egypt airline flight to Cambodia have been arrested.”

Ike an automobile parts dealer in Onitsha, who excreted 110 wraps of heroin, said he was promised N600,000 to smuggle the drug. Ike, who is married with four children and hails from Anambra State, said he smuggled the drugs because of financial hardship.

Lekwauwa Mark Otaka, an Aba-based shoe merchant, explained that he was afraid swallowing the drugs, hence he decided to insert it into his anus. He is married with three children and hails from Abia State. He was promised N500,000 to smuggle the drug.

Abdallah described the action of the suspects as shameful. “This is a very shameful act and a bad influence on their children. Members of the society should draw lessons from these cases and shun drug trafficking.”He said the agency has taken measures to ensure comprehensive examination of passengers and goods for narcotics at the Kaduna airport.

In this article

0 Comments