The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended Francis Akajiobi, a 50-year-old businessman, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos for attempting to smuggle 1.2 kilograms of cocaine to Spain.
This arrest was announced in a statement by Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, and published on the Agency’s website on Sunday.
According to the statement, Akajiobi was caught with the cocaine hidden in the soles of his sandals as he prepared to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Madrid on Thursday, July 25, 2024. Akajiobi claimed the drugs were given to him at a bar in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to deliver to a friend in Spain for a fee of €5,000.
In a related incident, Makinde Sodiq Lekan was arrested following the seizure of 99 packages of Canadian Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain, weighing 51.6 kilogrammes. The packages arrived at the Lagos airport’s SAHCO Imports shed via a Turkish Airlines flight from Canada, with a layover in Istanbul, Turkey.
In another operation targeting opioid smuggling syndicates, NDLEA operatives arrested Chukwuemeka Obodozie, a kingpin, on Sunday, July 21, at Cele bus stop along the Oshodi-Apapa express road in Lagos. Obodozie was found with 100,000 tablets of tramadol 225 mg after five months of surveillance. He had arrived from Ghana via a transport company.
Separately, NDLEA operatives raided a cannabis farm in Osun State, arresting 17 suspects and seizing 31,600 kilograms of cannabis. The operation took place on Friday, July 26, in the Owena forest, Oriade LGA, Osun State, where 31,250 kilograms of cannabis were destroyed on 12.5 hectares of farmland. An additional 84 kilograms of processed cannabis sativa and a single-barrel Dane gun were also recovered.
Those arrested include Peter Osuya, 51; Zebron Ode, 46; Dogo Reuben Matthew, 35; Isaac Terna; Joseph David Lawrence, 27; Ugochukwu Victory, 24; Olamilekan Abolarin, 26; Dele Ayibo, 44; Ojo Moses, 21; Nini Ayila, 27; Msughve Clement, 23; Chuks Ogeneku, 40; Dada Aribo, 20; Uche Endurance, 30; Patrick Agba, 21; Osakwe Kennedy, 45; and Ojo Babatunde, 29.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives intercepted Ubaida Aliyu, a 32-year-old woman, on the Kaduna-Zaria highway on Saturday, July 27. She was found with 573 rounds of 7.60 mm live ammunition, intended for delivery to bandits in Sokoto.
Additional arrests include Godwin Udochukwu, 35, with 25,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection on the Kaduna-Zaria highway, and Alkasim Mikailu, 35, in Kano, following the seizure of 37,880 ampoules of diazepam injection on the Abuja-Kaduna highway.
In Lagos, two suspects, Abioye Adeniyi, 39, and Rafiu Lekan, 41, were caught with 55 jumbo wraps of Ghana Loud along the Badagry-Seme road on Friday, July 26. Samson Ifeayi Egwutouhi, 30, was also arrested the same day with 20 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa weighing 10.5 kilograms on the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway.
In Bauchi State, Suleiman Yahaya, 50, and Ibrahim Bello (a.k.a. Special), 35, were arrested on Thursday, July 25, with 315 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 204.75 kilograms along the Maiduguri bye-pass in Bauchi town.
NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa commended the officers for their diligent efforts and encouraged them to persist in their fight against drug cartels.
