NDLEA intercepts illicit drugs concealed in baby food tins

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted multiple consignments of illicit drugs hidden in tins of Cerelac baby food at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) and a courier firm in Lagos.

NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed on Sunday that the seized consignments included 36 parcels of cannabis, weighing 18.50 kilogrammes, destined for the United Kingdom.

“No less than 36 parcels of a strong strain of cannabis concealed in six cartons of tins of branded Nestle Cerelac baby food, with six containers in each package, were recovered at the SAHCOL export shed of Lagos airport on Wednesday, 31st July 2024. The psychotropic substance has a total weight of 18.50 kilograms,” Babafemi said.

Babafemi said a freight agent, Salaudeen Suliat Abiola, who presented the consignment, was promptly arrested, while a follow-up operation to Ibadan, Oyo State, on Saturday, August 3, led to the arrest of the sender of the cargo, Bello Motunrayo Folu, at her No. 20 Mofoluwasho Estate, Elewuro, Akobo area of the Oyo State capital.

He also noted that the Cerelac tins were all factory-sealed at the top while they were tampered with at the bottom, through which they put the substances covered with loose quantities of the infant cereal meal to prevent discovery, an effort that ended in futility as vigilant NDLEA officers were able to foil the attempt.

In a similar development, Babafemi said five different shipments of opioids and other psychoactive substances, such as promethazine, pentazocine, diazepam, tramadol, and morphine, concealed in cloths and other items meant for export to the US and UK, were equally interrupted by NDLEA operatives in Lagos.

“While one of the shipments containing 820 grammes of promethazine and pentazocine injections was going to the United States, the remaining four parcels consisting of over two kilograms of opioids such as tramadol 225mg, molly, and NPS were heading to the United Kingdom. They were all intercepted on Monday at a logistics company in Lagos,” he added.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at the Tincan port in Lagos on Friday recovered 77 packages of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, from the body compartments of four vehicles: the Toyota Highlander, Ford Explorer, Toyota Corolla, and Toyota Sienna, imported from Canada, during a joint examination of some containers with men of the Customs Service and other stakeholders.

The seized consignments have a total weight of 38.5 kilograms, while two suspects: Salami Abiodun Sunday, 34, and Lekan Atoyebi, 33, assigned to clear the shipments, have been taken into custody.