Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have dismantled two high-profile cross-border drug trafficking syndicates, seizing substantial quantities of cocaine and opioids worth billions of naira.
The syndicates, which include Nigerian operatives in Mubi, Onitsha, and Lagos, alongside Cameroonian collaborators, reportedly supplied drugs to terror groups in Nigeria and Cameroon.
In a statement on Sunday, the Spokesperson of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said six leaders of the cartels have been arrested in different parts of the country following months of intelligence gathering and painstaking surveillance.
The statement identified the suspects as Ibrahim Bawuro, Najib Ibrahim, Ibrahim Umar, Nelson Udechukwu Anayo, Ezeh Amaechi Martin, and Adejumo Elijah Ishola.
“Intelligence gathered revealed that some psychoactive substances including tramadol were often sourced by Ibrahim Bawuro and Ibrahim Najib from a notorious drug dealer in Onitsha: Nelson Udechukwu Anayo and thereafter packed and concealed in vehicles in the premises of Ezeh Amaechi Martin, an associate of Udechukwu,” the statement read in part.
It detailed that Bawuro and Najib sourced drugs such as tramadol from Udechukwu in Onitsha, concealing them in vehicles before transporting the substances to northern Nigeria and Cameroon.
Meanwhile, On October 8, operatives of the NDLEA intercepted 276,500 pills of tramadol in Taraba, abandoned in a Toyota Avensis on the Jalingo-Yola expressway.
Additional follow-up raids in Delta and Anambra states led to the capture of Martin and Udechukwu, while another major suspect, Adejumo Ishola, was arrested at the Seme border with 3.3 kilograms of cocaine and 600 grams of synthetic cannabis.
Also, at the Lagos’ Apapa Seaport, a collaboration between NDLEA and the Customs Service uncovered over 31 million pills of Voltron opioid mislabeled as diclofenac sodium in an imported container.
Separate incidents at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport saw the interception of cannabis consignments and the arrest of traffickers attempting to smuggle narcotics concealed in tiger nuts cargo.
The NDLEA also carried out operations across Kwara, Abuja, Plateau, Kaduna, Edo, and Ondo, recovering vast amounts of cannabis and opioids. Several suspects were arrested, and large drug caches, including cannabis fields, were seized.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency’s nationwide efforts, including community-based War Against Drug Abuse initiatives.
He praised officers for their vigilance and emphasised the importance of ongoing sensitization and advocacy to curb drug abuse across Nigeria.
