By Funmi Ojo
The Director of Media & Advocacy for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Femi Babafemi, has detailed a major operation resulting in the seizure of cocaine and methamphetamine worth over N4.1 billion.
This operation, which culminated in the arrest of the cartel’s ring leaders, followed months of intelligence gathering.
The Special Operations Unit of the NDLEA dismantled a cartel headed by Kelechi Monday Nwaobasi, a 49-year-old drug baron, and his 50-year-old sister, Ms. Chinwe Rose Nwaobasi.
The siblings were found storing large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine in their hideout in Aba, Abia State.
The operation, carried out on June 13th and 14th, 2024, at 3B Boundary Avenue and a residence along Ohia Road, led to the confiscation of 20.76 kilogrammes of the illicit substances.
In a related operation, NDLEA officers in Lagos uncovered a warehouse stocked with codeine-based syrup in the Comfort Oboh area of Kirikiri.
During an intelligence-led raid, four individuals connected to the importation and distribution of the opioid were arrested.
Those apprehended were Kingsley Amanambu Obumneke, 38; Emeka Emmanuel, 48; Bonaventure Ugochukwu, 59; and Martin Dike, 56.
The officers seized 82,000 bottles of the opioid, valued at over N600 million, along with a Toyota Tacuma truck and two buses used for distribution.
Further operations in Lagos on June 12th led to the interception of Ibrahim Abdulhamid, who was found with 29,100 pills of tramadol and other opioids, as well as 3.9 litres of codeine syrup in the Alaba Suru, Ojo local council area.
The NDLEA also made significant arrests and seizures in Kano and Jigawa states.
On June 10th, operatives arrested Yasir Rabi’u, 23, and Abubakar Ado, 30, recovering 230,600 pills of tramadol.
Another suspect, Hassan Abdullahi Ali, 25, was caught with 150 bottles of codeine syrup on June 11th in Kano.
In Ogun State, NDLEA operatives seized 390 kilogrammes of cannabis on June 10th and arrested Muhammad Sani, Nura Mohammad, and Samaila Rabe during an early morning raid in Ibese.
Two days later, a skuchies production facility was busted in Sagamu, resulting in the arrest of seven suspects and the seizure of 387 litres of skuchies, 70 litres of industrial codeine, 25 kilogrammes of cannabis, and various other drugs and production equipment.
In Edo State, NDLEA officers destroyed 10,534.78 kilogrammes of cannabis cultivated on 4.213912 hectares of farmland in Uhen Forest, Ovia North East council area.
Four suspects, Frank Ishoku, 38; Clifford Ossai, 49; Vanger Timothy, 30; and John Peter Oluwaseyi, 30, were arrested, and 16 kilogrammes of processed cannabis were recovered for prosecution.
The NDLEA’s operations extended to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, where two suspects, Muhammad Abba, 33, and Samson Ehizogie, 42, were arrested with 3,550 bottles of “Akuskura,” a new psychotropic substance mix, on June 14th.
In Benue State, Emmanuel Ogechi, 24, was nabbed with 11,200 tramadol pills along Otukpo-Enugu Road.
In Anambra State, Anayo Onwe, 40, was arrested with 62.4 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa in Nteje, and 1 kilogramme of methamphetamine was seized in Oraifite.
In Kwara State, Muhammed Musa, 24, was found with 33 kilogrammes of cannabis in Bode-Saadu, Jebba.
In Oyo State, Shokuro Adeola, 59, was apprehended with 11.5 kilogrammes of cannabis along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
In addition to these enforcement actions, the NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation efforts, engaging schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities across the country.
Commending the officers and men of the Special Operation Unit and various state commands, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) lauded their operational successes and urged them to intensify efforts in both drug supply reduction and demand reduction initiatives.
