Multi-State Raids Net NDLEA Arrests: Female Ammunition Supplier Nabbed Alongside 11

In a significant interception on New Year’s Day, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos, successfully seized a consignment of Colorado, a potent strain of cannabis, cleverly concealed in boxing kits imported from the United States.

The agency’s weeklong intelligence-led operation culminated in the arrest of 38-year-old Olorunfunmi Saheed Olakunle, a distributor of the psychoactive substance across Lagos state. Saheed revealed that he receives such shipments from his childhood friend based in the United States, Sagir Salami. The intercepted consignment weighed 1.80 kilograms.

Simultaneously, NDLEA operatives conducted raids in Kaduna, Lagos, Niger, Kogi, Kano, Borno, and Osun states, resulting in the arrest of 12 individuals involved in illicit drug activities. Notably, a 28-year-old female, Bilkisu Suleman, was apprehended on January 3rd with 249 rounds of live ammunition, intended for bandits in Katsina state.

In a separate incident, the Bonny camp cantonment in Lagos handed over Francis Suru and 63 jumbo bags of Ghana Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 2,104.2 kilograms, to NDLEA. The suspect and drugs were initially intercepted on December 12, 2023, near the cantonment gate.

Further operations in Niger state resulted in the seizure of 219.5kg of cannabis sativa from a J5 bus, with suspects Umar Musa and Isachiru Abubakar arrested. The NDLEA also apprehended Queen Onyema with cannabis blocks along Okene-Lokoja expressway and Mubarak Sani in Kano with 445.9kg of the same substance.

In Borno, four individuals were arrested with 60kg of cannabis, while in Osun, a consignment of illicit drugs sent from Lagos was intercepted, leading to the arrest of Ibrahim Olawale. The recovered drugs included cannabis sativa, Loud, Colorado, and Molly, totaling 10.974kg, along with related paraphernalia.

The NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the successful operations and urged officers nationwide to intensify their efforts against drug abuse. In addition, NDLEA commands across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiatives, conducting sensitization lectures in schools, communities, and workplaces.