By Sunday Oyinloye
It was end of the road for a 36 year-old lady, Chioma Afam and Peace Chidinma Caleb, 22 who used hijab to evade detection as the operatives of Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) in Benue State nabbed the two ladies while trying to smuggle a total of 296,000 tablets of Diazepam and Exol-5 from Onitsha, Anambra State to Gombe State last Saturday.
Chioma the Agency said uses multiple names such as Amina, Uzoamaka and Ifunaya to cover her criminal activities until the game ended with her arrest on Saturday.
Their vehicle coming from Onitsha had been stopped during routine checks and profiling of inward vehicles into Makurdi.
According to Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA” A search of their vehicle led to the discovery of 43kilograms of Diazepam and 33kg of Exol-5, both weighing 76 kilograms with a total of 296,000 tablets packed in four large ‘Ghana must go’ bags.
“Curiously, the two interstate drug traffickers have rebuffed efforts to take pictures with the exhibits without wearing their hijab.”
Meanwhile, the Ondo State Command of NDLEA has also intercepted one Olu Ameh, a commercial motorcycle rider with 465 kilograms of cannabis sativa along Ijagba-Ute road in Ose local government area of the state.
The illicit substance was said to have been bought from one Joseph in Ago-Akure, Akure North LGA and being conveyed to the buyer, a certain Egbonwon at Ijagba village in Ose LGA.
Reacting to the two seizures and arrests, Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA commended the commanders, officers and men of the Benue and Ondo state Commands of the Agency for their efforts to ensure that no illicit substance is allowed to pass through their areas of responsibility under whatever guise or cover to destroy the lives of innocent Nigerians in other parts of the country.
While wishing them and their colleagues in other Commands across Nigeria a happy sallah celebration, he charged them to remain vigilant at all times.
“For us in NDLEA, a kilogram of illicit drug seized by our gallant and courageous officers across the country is a kilogram less what is available on the streets and in our communities and that is why we’ll continue to encourage all our officers and men to continue to give their best in our pursuit of the mandate President Muhammadu Buhari has given us”, Gen. Marwa stated on Wednesday in Abuja.
