Age is no barrier to crime. This was starkly proven in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, where operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested Godfrey Orji, 84, and Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, 75. The grandfathers are now cooling their heels in custody for allegedly running an illicit drug ring targeting teenage secondary school students.
According to a Sunday statement by NDLEA Spokesman Femi Babafemi, Pa Obiora was busted on Friday, June 19, following tip-offs that he was retailing narcotics to students from his patent medicine store at 4 Club Road, Umuahia. Operatives searched the shop and seized 4.64 kilograms of tramadol and diazepam.
In a related development, Pa Orji, a pensioner running a covert drug trade, was cornered by alert security guards at Saint Silas Secondary School, Old Umuahia. He was caught red-handed supplying illicit drugs to two teenage students. The guards detained the suspects and handed them over to the police, who transferred the case to the NDLEA on Thursday, June 18.
In a confessional statement, a 15-year-old SS2 student disclosed that the 84-year-old pensioner supplied him with illicit substances for personal consumption and sale to other students. While the suspects face imminent prosecution, the NDLEA has placed the minors under counseling and rehabilitation.
The NDLEA has dealt another blow to drug cartels after intercepting a cargo of ADB-CHMINACA at a Lagos courier firm. The synthetic cannabinoid is classified as a highly dangerous New Psychoactive Substance (NPS).
Weighing in at 9.5 kilograms, the illicit China shipment was found tightly packed and concealed inside a standard carton.
Days earlier, on Tuesday, June 16, the agency struck a different Lagos logistics hub, seizing 300 grams of ‘Loud’. The high-potency cannabis strain was found hidden inside a shipment of ladies’ handbags.
Furthermore, an interdiction operation conducted on Friday, June 19, targetting the residence of a fugitive suspect, Lukman Badmus, in the Ajah axis of Lagos, resulted in the recovery of codeine syrup and cannabis derivatives
A follow-up enforcement action at a commercial facility operated by the suspect’s spouse, Aisha Saraki, on Lagos Island, led to the interception of a minibus containing 22.5 kilograms of compressed cannabis. Operatives effectively neutralized an attempt by Saraki to destroy evidence via the facility’s sanitation system during the raid.
The NDLEA recorded another victory along the Okene–Lokoja highway on Friday, June 19, when patrol officers busted Tochukwu Onah, 33. The suspect was transporting 1.030 kilograms of methamphetamine from Lagos to Abuja, hidden inside custard containers.
In a separate victory, a wanted couple who spent months on the run was finally captured in Ekiti State on Tuesday, June 16. James Tony Chukwudi, 48, and James Kehinde, 35, were arrested on Oniyo Street, Efon-Alaaye, ending a manhunt for their involvement in a 117kg skunk ring.
In Oyo State, enforcement actions on Saturday, June 20, led to the apprehension of three suspects at a residential building in the Dangote area, Elekara, Oyo Town. Operatives detained Tudun Olubiyi (75), Nasiru Buhari (22), and Buba Musa (47) following the discovery of 118 jumbo bags containing 1,416 kilograms of cannabis derivatives. The illicit consignment had been intentionally concealed under sawdust.
Command operations in Edo State have resulted in the destruction of extensive cannabis plantations and the arrest of two suspects. On Wednesday, June 17, agency personnel raided the Khagba forest, Owan East LGA, destroying 1,744.075 kilograms of cannabis and taking Patrick Imoukhede (45) into custody with 169 kilograms of processed exhibits.
Concurrently, a raid at Ebora Camp, Esan South LGA, culminated in the destruction of 2,424.945 kilograms of illicit canopy, alongside the arrest of Augustine Anyamone (45) for possession of 395 kilograms of skunk.
In tandem with enforcement operations, the agency’s commands and formations countrywide sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization initiatives over the past week.
The strategic public enlightenment activities successfully blanketed academic institutions, religious centers, corporate workplaces, and various grassroots communities.
The grassroots enforcement campaigns featured institutional WADA lectures across several states, including Orun Community Grammar School, Ekiti; Government Girls Secondary School, Charanchi, Kano; Federal Technical College, Doma, Nasarawa; Tafida Community Secondary School, Katsina; and Government Technical College, Onitsha, Anambra. Concurrently, leadership of the Rivers State Command conducted an advocacy visit to the Paramount Ruler of Rumuogba Kingdom, HRH Barr. Temple Ejekwu.
In his reaction to the nationwide operations, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd), lauded personnel of the DOGI, Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Lagos, Kogi, and Edo commands.
He noted that the successful interception of illicit supply chains seamlessly complements ongoing WADA initiatives, and urged commands across the federation to sustain the momentum.
