Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested three persons living with disabilities for alleged drug trafficking during separate operations in Anambra and Kwara states.
The agency also uncovered a massive cannabis stash worth over N5.8 billion in a Lekki mansion allegedly used as a drug warehouse.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Media and Advocacy of the agency, Femi Babafemi, one of the suspects, 60-year-old Romanus Nwabara, was arrested on Wednesday, May 6, at Akpaka Forest in Onitsha, Anambra State.
Babafemi said Nwabara was apprehended following credible intelligence and was found in possession of 250 grams of skunk packaged in retail sachets.
In another operation in Ogbunike, Anambra State, NDLEA operatives arrested 25-year-old Amos Kenneth, also identified as a person with disability, with 160.3 grams of Tramadol tablets, 80 pills of Diazepam, 38.23 grams of Exol 5 and 176.93 grams of skunk.
Similarly, officers on patrol along Bode Saadu in Kwara State intercepted a commercial vehicle on Friday, May 8, and arrested another passenger identified as Usman Salisu after discovering 6.3 kilograms of skunk concealed in a brown school bag.
In Lagos, operatives of the agency’s Special Operations Unit raided a mansion located at 36 African Lane, Lekki Phase 1, allegedly used as a stash house for illicit drugs.
During the operation conducted on Friday, May 8, officers recovered 4,000 parcels of Loud, a potent strain of imported cannabis, weighing 2,326 kilograms and estimated at over N5.815 billion in street value.
The agency also seized two Mercedes-Benz buses and various designer packaging materials allegedly used for retail distribution of the drugs.
Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives arrested Emmanuel Osita Okeke, 38, with 129 kilograms of skunk at Nyanya Karu in Nasarawa State.
In Kogi State, officers intercepted a white commuter J5 bus along the Okene-Lokoja highway and recovered 76 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 766 kilograms. Three suspects identified as Mathew Omohove, Ebuka Desmond and Babangida Musa were arrested in connection with the seizure.
The anti-narcotics agency also dismantled a makeshift skuchies production factory in the Ijora Badia area of Lagos on Wednesday, May 6.
Two suspects, Bose Jamiu and Gbenga Gege, were arrested while allegedly cooking cannabis and mixing it with other illicit substances. Recovered from the scene were 270 litres of skuchies and 106 grams of Tramadol 225mg.
The agency said its Commands across the country also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign through awareness lectures in schools, communities and worship centres in states including Nasarawa, Ekiti, Enugu, Abia, Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Kano and Oyo.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the balance between drug supply reduction efforts and anti-drug sensitisation activities.
He urged officers and commands nationwide to sustain the current momentum in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking.
