By Sunday Oyinloye
A Ghanaian drug trafficker, John Kadja, has been arrested by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) with 2 kilograms of Methamphetamine during an outward clearance of Qatar Airways from Abuja to Doha at the departure screening area of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Nigeria.
A search of his bag showed that the drug was concealed in a false bottom of his checked in luggage.
While being interviewed, he said he was travelling to Doha to work as a labourer. The 25 year old man is from Kumasi Ashanti Region, Ghana.
This is coming at a time two citizens of Niger Republic, 17-year-old Abdulkarim Shiabu and 23-year-old Lawal Saidu, and four others were arrested in Delta State with different quantities of Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine, Tramadol and Cannabis. Others arrested include: Precious Oghenegwoke; Loveth Omukoro; Uche Godwin and Uti Harrison.
Another suspect, Uzoh Ndubuisi Johnson, a Nigerian was arrested on Wednesday 8th December 2021 during an inward screening of Ethiopian Airlines passengers at the Arrival Hall of the airport. Uzoh who arrived from Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was controlled and arrested with clothes impregnated with cocaine, which has a gross weight of 6.7 kilograms.
Uzoh told narcotic officers that he was given the consignment by his enabler based in Brazil for which he would be paid N3million upon successful delivery to someone in Nigeria.
In a similar development, another trafficker, 53-year-old Udeh Charley was arrested at the Enugu airport for ingesting 72 wraps of Cocaine weighing 1.253kilograms. He was arrested on during outward screening of Ethiopian Airlines passengers going to Rome, Italy via Addis Ababa.
In custody, he claimed he would have been paid 4000 Euros on successful delivery of the drugs in Italy where he has been living for over 20 years. He attributed his decision to engage in the ignominious trade on downward turn of his business as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
In Ondo state, 43-year-old Onuoha Friday has been also been arrested along Lagos-Benin expressway with one million capsules of Tramadol while in two major arrests in Anambra State, a total of 238.973kilograms of assorted illicit drugs were recovered.
On Friday 3rd Dec, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck at the Onitsha head bridge heading to Delta State. Upon search, various quantities of Codeine, Tramadol, Diazepam, and Rohypnol were recovered from the vehicle and its driver, Obinna Obinwa, arrested. Similarly, on Wednesday, 8th Dec, the Agency’s patrol team on Onitsha Head Bridge intercepted another truck going to Delta with different quantities of assorted illicit drugs while the driver, Lucky James, was also arrested.
In a Press Release made available to Green Savannah Diplomatic Cable by the Director Media & Publicity of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi , in Kogi State, Adam Salaudeen was arrested at Ogori Magongo area of the state with 214.7kg of Cannabis sativa.
Commending the officers and men of Enugu, Abuja airports commands and their counterparts in Ondo, Anambra and Kogi state for the arrests and seizures in the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) charged them and their compatriots across the country to remain vigilant and resolute in the collective mission to rid every part of Nigeria of illicit drugs.
