Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have stormed a shrine guarded by a snake, used to hide illegal drugs in Igor community, Benin City, Edo State, following reliable intelligence.
During the operation, NDLEA agents found a specially built large hole in a wall, hidden by wallpapers and fetish items.
Femi Babafemi, the agency’s spokesman, stated, “Various amounts of illegal substances like methamphetamine, Loud, Colorado, and Arizona, all potent cannabis strains weighing a total of 8.743 kilograms, were extracted from the deep hole in the shrine’s wall.”
At least two women, Sonia Chinonso Ezumezu and Risikatu Tijani, were arrested during the intelligence-led raid on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, after the large black snake guarding the shrine was neutralized.
Similarly, two suspects, Obi Ferguson, 45, and Ernest Abanum, 46, were apprehended on Saturday, June 22, when NDLEA operatives raided the Usen forest in Ovia South West LGA, Edo State, where 209kg of cannabis and a motorcycle were seized.
In another operation, NDLEA officers in Lagos intercepted a carefully packaged shipment of 8.2 kilograms of methamphetamine at a motor park in Mazamaza, Ojo area of the state. The highly addictive drug, also known as ice or crystal meth, was packed in imported Dunkin’ turtle love chocolate wraps and hidden in the casing of three loudspeakers. A 39-year-old suspect, Michael Odiomume, who was sending the shipment to Owerri, Imo State, was arrested on Wednesday, June 19, at the park.
In Abuja, operatives on Tuesday, June 18, intercepted a white Nissan Frontier pickup truck with amber lights and a fake registration number of a security agency at Kiyi village in Kuje area of the FCT. The vehicle was loaded with 454 compressed blocks of cannabis sativa, weighing 340.8kg, procured at Uzeba, Edo State. A 76-year-old grandfather, Mr. Francis Omofa, linked to the shipment, was arrested. He admitted to being in the illegal drug trade for 10 years.
With the same determination, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, awareness activities in schools, worship centers, workplaces, and communities over the past week. These included WADA awareness lectures for students and teachers of St. Peters College, Nibo, Anambra; students and staff of Apostolic Grammar School, Ilesa, Osun State; students and teachers of Immanuel Baptist High School, Oyo town, Oyo State; students and staff of Federal Government Science and Technical College, Otukpa, Benue State. Other activities included a WADA advocacy lecture for Muslim faithful during their Juma’at prayer in Umuahia, Abia State, and a WADA advocacy visit to the First Lady of Enugu State, Mrs. Nkechinyere Mbah, by the state Command of NDLEA.
While praising the officers and men of Edo, Lagos, and FCT Commands, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), highlighted the balance in their efforts to reduce drug supply and demand, as well as those of their colleagues across the country. He urged them to keep up the ongoing offensive against drug cartels as they continue to intensify their war against drug abuse, WADA, and social advocacy campaigns.
