• Recovers over 2.3 tonnes of illicit drugs in raids across eight states

From consolidated cargo arriving from the United Kingdom to music speakers and even loaves of bread, drug traffickers are adopting increasingly ingenious ways to conceal illicit substances.

But operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) are also tightening the net.

In a fresh nationwide crackdown, the agency intercepted two shipments of synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Colorado or Colos, from the UK and recovered more than 2.3 tonnes of assorted illicit drugs in operations across Lagos, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Kaduna, Plateau, Bayelsa and Kano states.

At the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a consolidated cargo from the UK containing 27 parcels of Colos weighing 32.20kg.

A real estate agent, Abideen Jide Salami, was arrested on Wednesday, September 9, when he arrived to collect the luggage containing the drugs. According to the agency, Salami was using a secret collection code reportedly provided by his brother based in the UK.

In a follow-up operation linked to a second UK consignment, NDLEA operatives traced and arrested its intended recipient, 44-year-old Nurudeen Abiodun Kadiri.

The second shipment contained 12.25kg of Colos. Kadiri reportedly told investigators that his brother in the UK had sent the consignment.

The Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement yesterday.

The traffickers also turned to music speakers as concealment devices.

At a motor park in Maza Maza, Lagos, operatives of the NDLEA’s Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted a speaker rigged with three packs of Colos destined for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and ultimately Liberia.

A tour agent, 41-year-old Ifeanyi Obed Augustine, and the alleged owner of the consignment, 46-year-old Obasi Ugochukwu, were arrested in a sting operation at a nearby eatery.

At Iddo Motor Park, another suspect, Ifeanyi Nwokolo Henry, was arrested on Friday, September 11, while allegedly attempting to dispatch 2.1kg of Colos to Kano.

The crackdown extended beyond Lagos, with operatives uncovering large consignments of pharmaceutical opioids and other controlled substances in several states.

In Delta State, separate operations in Ughelli and Asaba yielded ampoules of pentazocine injection, codeine syrup, tramadol, diazepam, flunitrazepam (Hypnox) and MDMA, also known as Molly.

Some of the drugs were concealed inside music speakers. Two suspects, Emeka Oji and Chukwuebuka Anedi, were arrested.

In Kano, a raid at Sabon Gari led to the arrest of 20-year-old Saidu Adamu with 785,000 capsules of pregabalin weighing 669.425kg.

Along the Zaria-Kano-Hadejia Road, operatives intercepted 1,700 tablets of diazepam allegedly concealed inside loaves of bread.

The drugs were seized from 28-year-old Habibu Sabitu.

At Katako Market in Jos, Plateau State, 51-year-old Chinedu Uzor was arrested with 157,100 capsules of tramadol.

The agency also intensified its operations against illicit cannabis cultivation.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives destroyed 4,832.56kg of Cannabis sativa, commonly known as skunk, on farms in Usen, Igwe-Oke and Ogboha forests across Ovia South West, Owan East and Owan West Local Councils.

A 39-year-old suspect, Sunday Segun, was arrested.

In Ondo State, 58-year-old Paul Ogbuwala was arrested after 186kg of skunk was recovered from the boot of a Toyota Avalon along Oke-Iya, Ijoka Road, Akure.

The NDLEA said Ogbuwala planned to transport the consignment to Jos for distribution.

In Kaduna, a female suspect, Hannah Michael, was arrested at Gonin Gora with 369.6kg of cannabis, while four suspects, including 70-year-old Godwoman Gboriye, were arrested at Ovom, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, with 110 bags of cannabis weighing 876kg.