By Sunday Oyinloye
A 90-year-old Yusuf Yarkadir has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), for selling drugs to the youths in Yarkadir village, Rimi Local Government Area of Katsina State even as different quantities of illicit drugs going to the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand have been intercepted and seized by narcotic officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations, DOGI, attached to some courier companies in Lagos.
According to the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, in one of the courier firms, 400 grams of Ketamine hidden in walls of hair attachments carton coming from Cameroon and heading to the US was seized.
Others include: 30grams of Tramadol concealed in female headgear coming from Onitsha, Anambra state and going to the UK; 200grams of Ketamine from Cameroon going to USA; and 400grams of Methamphetamine from Asaba, Delta state heading to New Zealand.
In the case of the nonagenarian, he was said to have confessed that he has been selling cannabis sativa to the youths in his community for eight years due to their demand for the illegal substance. He however failed to disclose the source of supply.
In a related development, narcotic officers in the Ondo State Command of the Agency have arrested two teenage siblings along with other suspects for dealing in assorted illicit drugs in the state capital.
Babafemi said: “The teenagers; Onyema Sunday, 16, and his sister, Onyema Amaka, 15, were arrested in Car street area of Akure with 1.894kilograms of Tramadol, while 23-year-old Kazeem Oluyede was nabbed in Eru Oba area of the capital city with 300grams of cannabis and 3grams of methamphetamine, just as a lady Maryam Musa, 35, was arrested in Igbara-Oke, Ifedore local council area of the state with 5.5kilograms of cannabis, all same day.
“Also in Ondo state, following credible intelligence and surveillance, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 7th July stormed the Ogbese market, in Akure North LGA, where Messrs Jalamia Ochonogor and Austin Uzoka were arrested with 63kilograms of cannabis.’’
He disclosed further that in Bauchi State, at least seven persons have been arrested and 28.091kilograms of assorted drugs such as Diazepam, Exol-5, Rophynol, Tramadol, Codeine, and cannabis recovered from them.
“Those arrested in two separate raids by operatives of the Bauchi state command of the Agency Include: Sunday Obi, Abba Abdullahi, Samuel John, Chijioke Agu, Sani Musa, Alhaji Alhaji Baffa, and Abubakar Saidu”.
Meanwhile, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa has commended the officers and men of Katsina, Ondo and Bauchi Commands as well as DOGI for their vigilance and commitment to the goal of ridding every community in Nigeria of the menace of drug abuse and trafficking
He charged them not to relent, “but continue to raise the bar in the ongoing offensive action against the scourge and the cartels behind them.”
