NDLEA Cracks Down on Drug Cartels, Nabs Deaf and Dumb Suspects, Seizes Over Half a Million Pills

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted a staggering 14.5 tons of Ghanaian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis sativa, smuggled into Lagos from Ghana. The operation, conducted on Sunday, January 28, 2024, resulted in the arrest of a key associate of a wanted drug baron and the seizure of over half a million pills.

The three vehicles transporting the illicit substance were tracked and apprehended at Ojuelegba area in Lagos. Two drivers managed to escape, while the third, identified as 66-year-old Nasiru Ojomu, an associate of the notorious drug lord Suleiman Jimoh, was arrested.

Suleiman Jimoh, also known as Olowo Idi Ogede or Temo, has been the target of NDLEA for the past three years. The agency has seized multiple shipments of the psychoactive substance linked to him, and efforts to apprehend him continue.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives patrolling around a sealed warehouse in Idumota, Lagos, arrested three suspects who had burgled the store. Joseph Joshua, Muhammed Adamu, and Balarabe Musa were caught loading 546,700 pills of tramadol and other opioids into waiting vehicles.

The agency’s reach extended to Kaduna, where a male deaf and dumb suspect was arrested in Zaria with 150 grams of cannabis. Another suspect, Ibrahim Sani, 56, was apprehended in possession of 51 kilograms of the same substance in Tirkaniya area.

Operatives in Abuja intercepted Emmanuel Paul with 43.5kg of concealed cannabis in used shoes on January 31. Meanwhile, in Katsina state, a suspect named Murtala Isah, 35, was caught with 37,600 pills of tramadol and other opioids.

In Kogi state, NDLEA operatives destroyed 833.32 kilograms of cannabis sativa on a farmland at Iluke community, leading to the arrest of Samuel Atonila, 49. The agency also made significant seizures in Nasarawa and Ondo states, arresting suspects and recovering large quantities of psychoactive substances.

As part of their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA), NDLEA Commands nationwide conducted sensitization lectures in various settings, including schools, communities, workplaces, and markets.