Arrested Brazilian returnee, Okolie Paulinus Nwabueze, has excreted 92 wraps of cocaine after spending days at the facility of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Nwabueze (53), a father of two, was arrested by anti-narcotics operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja where he was caught with the imported illicit drug.
The anti-drug agency also intercepted a US-bound Meth consignments, Akuskura, going to Saudi Arabia. It also arrested a 25-year-old pregnant female drug dealer in Edo State.
The arrests and interception are contained in a press release by the NDLEA Head, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, dated 11 September, 2022.
The Brazilian returnee who hails from Mmaku Village, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, was arrested on Friday, 2 September upon his arrival on Qatar Airline flight enroute Brazil-Doha-Abuja.
“He claimed to have left Nigeria to Mozambique in 2004 and finally relocated to Brazil in 2017, where he obtained a residence permit before deciding to import the illicit substance for a $4,000 fee,” Babafemi stated.
In the same vein, a 42-year-old man, Aliyu Bello Kwasare, has been arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, (MAKIA), Kano.
The suspect was arrested for allegedly attempting to export a consignment of new psychoactive substance, Akuskura, to Saudi Arabia.
Kwasare, from Kware Local Government Area, Sokoto State and resident of Goron Dutse Area, Kano, was arrested on 5 September during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airline flight to Riyadh.
25-year-old pregnant woman, Haruna Favour, was arrested in Auchi, Edo State, last Friday, with 82 pinches of methamphetamine.
Also found on her were various quantities of Loud, Arizona, Colorado variants of cannabis and codeine-based cough syrup.
The NDLEA, through inter-agency collaboration with the Nigerian Customs, also seized no fewer than 1, 099, 000 tablets of Tramadol 225mg at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos.
“The pharmaceutical opioids, packed in 50 cartons weighing 2,058.90kg, were imported from Pakistan via Addis-Ababa on Ethiopian Airways.
“The consignment was concealed among other non-controlled pharmaceuticals,” Babafemi declared in the press release.
Also, a freight agent, Aliyu Abubakar, was, last Friday, arrested at the NAHCO Export Shed of the airport over attempt to export a consignment of cannabis concealed inside bottles of Caro White Body Lotion.
NDLEA operatives attached to some courier companies in Lagos foiled attempts by drug cartels to export 7.805 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine to the United States and Australia.
“The meth consignments were concealed in the linings of local fabric, wooden statutes, printer cartridges, handle of travel bag and cassava flakes,” it was stated.
In Gombe State, 119, 000 tablets and capsules of tramadol, D5 and Exol5 were recovered from two drug dealers, Nasiru Abubakar (22) and Umaru Bayero (a.k.a Hadiza).
The arrests were effected when NDLEA operatives raided the stores of the suspects at the Gombe Main Market on Tuesday, 6 September.
“In Kogi State, a suspect, Paul Ali (47), was arrested along Okene-Abuja Highway with 1,404 bottles of codeine-based syrup weighing 190.94kg and 2,040 ampoules of pentazocine injection coming from Onitsha to Sokoto.
“A follow up operation in Sokoto has also led to the arrest of the receiver of the consignment on Tuesday, 6 September,” Babafemi said.
He also stated that a raid at a cannabis plantation camp in Emure forest, Owo Local Government A, Ondo State has led to the arrest of Monday Onoja (20); Daniel Kehinde (25); and Obinna Okechukwu (35).
According to the NDLEA Head of Media, 16 bags of the illicit substance weighing 179.5kg were seized from the suspects at the cannabis plantation.
Reacting to the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) has, commended the officers and men of the NAIA, MMIA, DOGI, MAKIA, Kano, Kogi, Edo, Ondo and Gombe commands for their resilience.
Marwa charged the operatives and their compatriots in other commands across the country to remain focussed and vigilant in their areas of responsibility.
