The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) made a significant arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, involving a 54-year-old businessman named Paul Okwuy Mbadugha. The suspect was on his way to Vietnam when he was intercepted during the routine screening of passengers on Monday, August 12, 2024. Mbadugha tested positive for cocaine ingestion and was placed under observation for four days.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, confirmed that Mbadugha eventually excreted 88 wraps of cocaine, with a gross weight of 1.710 kilograms. According to his statement, Mbadugha, who is based in Lagos, was promised $2,000 to deliver the drugs in Vietnam. The drugs were reportedly given to him by a friend in the Isolo area of Lagos.
In another operation, NDLEA officers stationed at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted a shipment of synthetic cannabis known as Loud. The 800-gram package was concealed inside noodles and was headed for Congo. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the sender, Nnamani Sunday Sunny, at the Alaba International Market in Lagos. Sunny is reportedly involved in the GSM handset business.
Meanwhile, a large quantity of Loud imported from Canada was also seized at the Lagos airport. During a joint inspection by security agencies, NDLEA operatives apprehended Desalu Taophic Temitope, who had arrived aboard an Air France flight. Six suitcases were inspected, and four of them contained 65.80 kilograms of the illegal substance. Desalu admitted that he and an accomplice, currently on the run, were promised $10,000 for successfully delivering the drugs in Lagos.
In another significant bust, NDLEA officers seized 892,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup at the Onne Port in Rivers State. The opioid, packed in 5,337 cartons, had a street value of N6.2 billion and weighed a total of 133,860 kilograms. The containers had been shipped from India and were intercepted during a joint examination with Nigerian Customs and other port officials on August 14 and 15, 2024.
Additionally, the NDLEA destroyed 21,800 kilograms of cannabis sativa found on a 20-hectare plantation in Ise Forest Reserve, Ekiti State. The operation was carried out with support from the Nigerian Army and local community members on August 14, 2024.
Further drug seizures were made across the country, including the interception of a Sienna bus along the Onitsha-Enugu road, where 200.2 kilograms of cannabis were recovered. In Kano, two suspects were caught with 145,400 pills of tramadol, while in Ogun State, a 70-year-old man and three others were arrested in connection with a six-hectare cannabis farm.
