Sodiq Mojibola
In its concerted efforts to forestall the excesses of drug trafficking in Nigeria, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have made significant arrests, including a 48-year-old Paris-bound businessman, Emmanuel Okechuku Orjinze, who ingested 111 wraps of cocaine.
According to a statement by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy for the NDLEA, Orjinze excreted the cocaine after days of observation in the agency’s custody following his arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.
Orjinze, who claims to be a professional footballer in Europe, was detained on May 21 during the outward clearance of Air France flight AF 878 from Abuja to Paris.
A body scan revealed the ingestion of illicit drugs, leading to his detention, where he excreted a total of 111 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.603 kilograms over three days. Orjinze asserted he was involved in the maritime sector while also seeking opportunities with European football clubs.
Simultaneously, NDLEA officers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate, arresting four members and seizing 8 kilograms of methamphetamine and 7.60 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis imported from South Africa.
The syndicate was exposed when an airport official was intercepted with a backpack and bag containing the illicit substances at Terminal 1 on May 21. Follow-up operations in Ajao Estate, Lagos, led to the arrest of syndicate members Chris Nwadozie and Chinedu Nwaosu, with a further arrest within the airport system on May 25.
In another case, NDLEA operatives at the NAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport arrested freight agent Sonubi Mariam Abiodun on May 22 for attempting to export 8 parcels of cocaine weighing 2 kilograms concealed in paint buckets of shea butter to the United Kingdom.
In Lagos’ Igbo Elerin area, NDLEA officers arrested Odumegwu Obijofor on May 21 for producing and distributing skuchies, a mixture of black currant and illicit drugs. Approximately 2,480 liters of this New Psychoactive Substance (NPS) were recovered from his clandestine factory.
In Cross River State, Ogar Emmanuel was arrested with 2.5 kilograms of cannabis at Ukpada Utugwan village. Additionally, 29 sacks of cannabis weighing 290 kilograms were recovered from the warehouse of Usani Ikpi, who remains at large. Three suspects—Sa’adu Sule, 23; Mukhtar Nura, 23; and Hamza Nura, 18—were arrested on May 24 in Katsina State with 129 blocks of cannabis weighing 70 kilograms.
In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, five suspects, including Ezekiel Munda, 30, and Sule Mustapha, 21, were apprehended on May 23 during raids at Karu Abattoir, Jikwoyi, and Tora Bora Hill, recovering 95.01 kilograms of cannabis and various opioids.
In Edo State, a physically challenged notorious drug dealer, Zekere Sufianu, 45, was arrested in Auchi town on May 22. He was found with 751 grams of Loud, 178 grams of tramadol, and swinol pills at the time of his arrest.
The NDLEA has also been active in its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign, conducting sensitization lectures for students and teachers across multiple states, including Osun, Oyo, Kaduna, Gombe, Ogun, Anambra, and Edo.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the efforts of the officers and men of the NAIA, MMIA, FCT, Lagos, Cross River, Katsina, and Edo Commands for their exceptional work over the past week.
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