Latest Politics updatein nigeria
Lifestyle Nigeria gathered that Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have thwarted attempts by Organised Criminal Groups (OCGs) to use various disingenuous modes of concealment to import consignments of illicit substances into nigeria and export the same to the United Kingdom, and United Arab Emirate (UEA) through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja and Tincan seaport in Lagos State.
No less than 37.5kgs of such illicit consignments were intercepted in the past week, with the arrest of 11 suspects in interdiction operations that led to the seizure of almost four tons of skunk in Kaduna, Kano and Lagos states.
Spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said on Sunday in Abuja that at the Lagos airport, a freight agent Ogunsina Damilare was arrested on Friday 6th January following a bid to export 1.5kgs of skunk hidden in foodstuffs to Dubai, UAE through the SAHCO export shed of the MMIA.
According to him, a similar attempt to ship 11.5kgs of the same substance to the United Kingdom was frustrated when the consignment concealed in a giant wooden sculpture was intercepted by NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) at a courier company in Lagos.
“Curiously, the latter emanated from Ghana with London as the destination,” Babafemi said.
He said that at the Tincan port in Lagos, a shipment of 24.5kgs cannabis indica to nigeria from Montreal, Canada was intercepted by operatives while an N8m bribe offered NDLEA officers by the importer has been secured in an account for the prosecution of the case.
He said, “While the importer, Cedrick Maduweke is still at large, one of his accomplices, Steve Isioma Adigwe has been arrested. The consignment was hidden in a used Toyota Sienna vehicle that arrived the port along with three other cars in a container marked MSMU 5082733.”.
Meanwhile, a total of 3, 672kgs of cannabis sativa were recovered from two locations and five suspects were arrested in Kaduna State during separate raid operations.