The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted consignments of illicit drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine, and its precursor chemical, ephedrine, going to the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, and Cyprus at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

This was disclosed via a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

Babafemi noted that no fewer than three traders at the Trade Fair Complex in the Ojo area of Lagos State were arrested in connection with attempts to export 52.10 kilograms of ephedrine, a precursor chemical and active ingredient for the production of methamphetamine, concealed in bunches of fishing threads and packed among other items in jumbo sacks that were intercepted at the SAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport on January 31 and February 1, 2023.

He listed the arrested traders to include Nwudele Basil Christopher, Chiedu Ezenwani Francis, and Donatus Nwojiji, adding that it took the painstaking efforts of NDLEA officers and deployment of sniffer dogs to be able to discover the complex mode of concealment of the illicit substance.

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The NDLEA spokesperson stated that the officers of the anti-drug agency on Monday, February 13 arrested a 29-year-old man, Apeh Kelvin Ogbonna, while attempting to board Turkish airline flight TK0624 going through Istanbul to Cyprus with 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in false bottoms of his travelling bag at the Abuja airport.

Babafemi disclosed that the suspect claimed he was running a boutique business in Enugu State before he decided to travel to Cyprus for a degree in Business Administration.

He noted that the NDLEA operatives, at three different courier firms in Lagos, intercepted two cocaine consignments weighing 400 grams each going to the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia.

“They were hidden in walls of cartons used for packaging. Two other consignments containing 500 grams and 100 grams of methamphetamine were also blocked from being shipped to New Zealand after they were discovered concealed in food items,” the NDLEA spokesman added.

In his reaction to the arrests and seizures, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the officers of the anti-drug agency for their commitment and vigilance.

Marwa urged them and their compatriots across the country to continue with the current working synergy with other security forces toward ridding Nigeria of the menace of illicit drugs.

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