Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a consignment of terror drug, Captagon, in Kwara State.
This was coming barely five years after NDLEA recorded the first seizure of the deadly terror drug, in Africa at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos.
This was contained in a press release by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday.
Captagon, a potent amphetamine, is a tiny, highly addictive pill, widely available across the Middle East.
It produces an euphoric intensity in users, allowing them to stay awake for days, making them fearless, and predisposes them to reckless action that puts the lives of people around them in jeopardy.
The production and sale of the terror drug are controlled by militias and large criminal groups linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as a means of generating funds for weapons and combatants, and for use as a stimulant to keep them fighting.
“The latest seizure of Captagon, whose street value costs as much as $25 a pill, was made last Tuesday when NDLEA operatives on patrol along Bode Saadu Road, Kwara State intercepted a trailer conveying passengers.
“A search conducted on one of the passengers, 33-year-old Nasiru Mu’azu, led to the recovery of 10 packs of Captagon, consisting of 10,000 pills and nine packets of Tapentadol 250mg,” it was stated in the release.
In another interdiction operation at the Bode Saadu Patrol Point, NDLEA officers, last Friday, intercepted a trailer marked RMY-70XA.
“A search of the truck led to the recovery of 155,900 capsules of tramadol; 6,000 ampuoles of tramadol injection; 3,000 tablets of Co- Codamol and 9,000 tablets of Bromazepam, concealed in a false compartment constructed under the trailer.
“A 24-year-old suspect, Aminu Isah, has been taken into custody in connection with the seizure,” it was added in the release.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Oyo State, last Tuesday, intercepted a commercial bus with registration number MNA 963 ZY, at Akinyele, along Ibadan/Oyo Expressway, en route Sokoto.
“A 33-year-old passenger, Eze Prince Emeka, was brought down from the vehicle and taken for body scan, which result confirmed ingestion of illicit drug.
“The suspect who claims to be a businessman in Sokoto was subsequently placed under close excretion observation during which he excreted a total of 45 pellets of cocaine with a total weight of 1.043 kilograms in three excretions.
“The decision to travel by road to Sokoto with the illicit drug in his stomach was to evade detection by NDLEA at the airport.
“Further investigation reveals that upon arrival in Sokoto, the suspect was to excrete the pellets, rest for a few days, and subsequently re-ingest the substances to continue the journey through the trans-Saharan routes, with Algeria as a transit point and possible final destination in Europe,” it was revealed.
In Edo State, NDLEA officers on patrol along Benin/Lagos expressway, last Saturday, intercepted a truck marked NLC 146 FC conveying 1, 196,000 pills of pharmaceutical opioids, among others.
“Two suspects– Osagie Igbinibo (43), and Omijie Malik (44), were apprehended in connection with the seizure of the consignments heading to Onitsha, Anambra State,” it was stated.
In another development, a suspect, Rasheed Ibuowo (40), was arrested at Mile 2 Expressway, Lagos, last Saturday, conveying 810 kilograms of Arizona, a strain of cannabis.
Another suspect, Muktar Bello (35), was nabbed by NDLEA operatives, last Wednesday, at Misau Road, Azare/Katagun LGA, Bauchi State with 288 blocks of skunk weighing 154.5kg.
In Ekiti State, a total of 466.8 kilograms of skunk were recovered from the house of a suspect, Layit John Matthew (56), at Ilaro Street, Isinbode-Ekiti, from where he planned to transport them to Yola, Adamawa State.
20,000 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance were destroyed on eight hectares of farmland in Uyanga Community, Akamkpa LGA, Cross River State.
NDLEA officers, supported by soldiers, raided the community, last Saturday, and recovered 170kg of processed cannabis.
Three Hundred and Ninety-Four (394) pieces of IED components were seized from a suspect, Mohammed Aliyu (26), by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Kontagora/Zuru Road, Niger State, on Wednesday.
The suspect, who was conveying the IED materials in a red Toyota car with registration number KNT 617 AE to Shadadi, Mariga LGA, and the exhibit are to be transferred to the relevant security agency for further investigation.
With the same zeal, commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities across schools, worship centres, work places and communities, among others, in the past week.
These include WADA enlightenment lecture for students and staff of Mallam Salisu Islamic School, Paiko, Niger State; Madarasatul Abdulrahman Bin Auf Litahafizul Quran, Durusul Islamiyah Badawa, Nasarawa LGA, Kano; Sani Zango Daura Model Primary School, Zango, Katsina;
The sensitisation campaign was also taken to members of community development associations, Badagry LGA Lagos, while the Zonal Commander, Zone 4 Command of NDLEA, ACGN Bridget Viashiama led other senior officers of the Zone on a WADA advocacy visit to Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, among others.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), has commended officers and men of Kwara, Oyo, Edo, Cross River, Bauchi, Ekiti, Niger and Lagos commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures
He noted their drug supply reduction efforts balanced with WADA sensitisation activities, just as he charged them and their compatriots across the country to maintain the current tempo.
Marwa commended the tactical precision of NDLEA operatives following the interception of 10,000 pills of Captagon in Kwara State.
He noted that the interception of the terror drug was a major blow to drug syndicates attempting to revive a pipeline that has been largely dormant since the landmark seizure at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos five years ago.
He described the seizure as a wake-up call, noting that Captagon, a potent amphetamine often linked to insurgent groups for its ability to inhibit fear and fatigue, remained a target for traffickers looking to fuel insecurity.
“We are not just seizing pills; we are disrupting the fuel that powers violence in our communities. Our operatives remain on high alert across all frontiers to ensure this illicit trade finds no foothold,” he stated.
