By Sunday Oyinloye
Okafor Okwudili Moses, the drug baron behind the 2.55kg cocaine hidden inside a toilet at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos, Nigeria is now in the net of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
The Brazil- based drug dealer who arrived via an Ethiopian Airline flight was arrested, and while being interviewed in custody was alleged to have confirmed he is the owner of the seized illicit drug.
Green Savannah Diplomatic Cable gathered that the drug was discovered in the toilet of the airport on Friday 12th November after it was dumped there by a trafficker who was obviously scared of being caught by narcotic officers positioned at the airport.
The following day, Saturday 13th November, the actual owner of the consignment, Okafor came into the country through the same airport and was promptly arrested and taken into the custody of NDLEA where he confessed to the crime.
In other interdiction operations across the country, over 6,043.857 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs were recovered in five states of Adamawa, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Ebonyi with more than two hectares of cannabis farms destroyed.
A fake security agent, Abdullahi Mohammed, who claimed to be serving in one of the security formations in Mubi, Adamawa state was arrested with four blocks of Cannabis Sativa weighing 4kg along Bazza- Michika road. In the same vein, four other suspects were arrested at different locations in Jimeta, Yola North LGA, with assorted substances such as Cannabis, Diazepam, Exol- 5 and Tramadol tablets.
In Ondo State, three persons: Alabi Idowu; Oluwatomipe Olorundare and Finity Sunday were arrested on Monday 15th November and a total of 2,771kgs of Cannabis recovered from them at Oke Ogun camp, Ipele, Owo LGA, while 59-year-old Mrs. Joy Peter was nabbed with over 39kg cannabis and Tramadol tablets on Wednesday 17th Nov.
In the same vein, over 2, 832kg of drugs were seized and more than two hectares of cannabis farms destroyed in parts of Ekiti state. While 2,582kg of Cannabis was recovered on Tuesday 16th November from Itapaji forest, Ipao, Ikole LGA, 250kg was seized from Ise forest, Ise-Orun LGA where the cannabis farm was also destroyed on Thursday 18th Nov.
It was a similar story in Ebonyi State, where a 29-year-old Ivoh Chukwuemeka accompanied by his girlfriend Ogbonna Peace, 18, was intercepted along Enugu-Abakaliki expressway with 20.357kg cannabis on Friday 19th Nov. Similarly, 377.5kg cannabis was seized from at least two suspects: Lucky Okhian and Aaron Monday in Owan West LGA as well as Okpokhumi forest in Owan East LGA of Edo state.
Reacting to the arrest of Okafor and other suspects as well as the seizures from the states, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the officers and men involved in the operations across the commands for sustaining the heat on drug cartels in the country.
The Director Media & Advocacy of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi quoted Marwa as saying “We are proving to the bad guys and merchants of death that we’ll not stay a step ahead of them but two steps in this game, and this we must sustain as we prepare to go into the new year”
