Suddenly there was a burst of drug activities at the Lagos airport so much that the regularity would suggest that the gateway is becoming a target of different cartels. SHOLA ADEKOLA examines why Lagos is becoming a drug hub
WITH its huge youthful population, Lagos is already struggling under crimes like cultism, robbery and thuggery which are majorly perpetrated by young people. The state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, recently alluded to these crimes as the main social issue battling his administration. Drug abuse, which has a strong link to crime, is also a major issue in the state, with the chairman of the National Drug and Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), General Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd), saying that about 4.5 million residents of the state were involved in illicit drugs, accounting for 30 per cent of the total drug abusers in the country.
However, the emerging trend in drug trafficking through the international gateway located in the state is showing a worrisome pattern that agents of the drug world have seen the Lagos international airport as a viable route, hence the bombardment in the last five months. And the NDLEA has also been turning the heat on the barons and their agents, arresting 65 of them within the period.
The continuous arrest of the traffickers at the Murtala Muhammed Airport and other airports across the country has produced quite a disturbing number. Between January and June 3, the anti-narcotic agency arrested about 2,182 drug trafficking suspects and filed over 2,000 cases in courts nationwide. The Lagos airport alone recorded 79 drug cases that led to the arrest of 65 suspects comprising 57 males and eight females, with 18 seizures of abandoned contraband made during the period.
The street value of the drugs seized in the period has been put at N100 billion. This is just as the NDLEA hinted of an ongoing move to take action against a certain foreign airline said to be notorious for aiding and abetting drug traffickers. The agency alleged that the airline allows the traffickers to use its flights to carry drugs.
Also in the last five months, the agency said it had prosecuted and secured the conviction of 400 traffickers who are presently serving different jail terms, with about 1,500 other cases pending in court.
Beyond the traffickers, the agency said it had declared war on the drug barons, with five reportedly in the net and many more being trailed. The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in an exclusive chat with Saturday Tribune, said: “The drug world is a complex organisation, whereby traffickers work the street in their numbers while the barons work from a safe distance, sometimes even from a foreign country. So, a lot of work, a lot of patience, a lot of calculation and intelligence is involved to bring a baron to justice. We recently nabbed a baron in Lagos on May 14 after we intercepted a consignment of cocaine worth N8 billion. A former Lagos Island council boss has also been taken in, while another one who had been on the run for more than 10 years was equally arrested in February. In all, between January and now, we have arrested not less than five barons; those that control some drug cartels in Nigeria and we are on the trail of more.”
A disturbing timeline
The highest seizure made at the Lagos airport involved a 33-year-old Onyejegbu Ifesinachi Jennifer who was caught by the operatives of the agency on January 27 with 26.85kg of cocaine, adjudged to be the largest single seizure made at the airport in the last 12 years.
According to the Lagos airport commander of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Garba, the street value of the cocaine involving Onyejegbu is about N7 billion.
Garba said: “This year, we are able to have the largest single seizure of 26.850kg of cocaine. This is very interesting because it was brought in by a lady. If you look at it, this is more than half a bag of rice and if you look at how she did it, she just checked it in as a check-in luggage and passed it through. That is a very serious seizure. I think our officers should be commended for this.”
The eagle eyes of the NDLEA officials caught her during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airline passengers coming from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa at the E-arrival hall of the airport. The cocaine was neatly concealed and sewn in duvets.
Earlier, on January 9, one Okeke Uchenna Aloy Pascal, a fugitive, was caught with 13kg of cocaine cleverly concealed in packet shirts. Next to be arrested at the Lagos airport on January 24 was one Edosa Christopher during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airline to Italy at the MMIA with 950 grams of heroin. He was arrested after a body scan was conducted on him and he was confirmed positive for drug ingestion.
The following day, January 25, a passenger using another tactic, abandoned a bag containing 8.200kg of cocaine at the airport. After the extensive underground enquiries carried out by the NDLEA officials, three suspects, namely Abubakar Aliyu, Emmanuel Iyke Aniebonam and Onwurah Kelvin, were arrested.
Also on March 5, one Hassan Taiwo was intercepted on arrival onboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight. He was on a return trip to Abuja from Addis-Ababa when he met his waterloo. Barely two weeks after. a Madrid, Spain-bound trafficker, Okonkwo Chimezie Henry, excreted 113 wraps of cocaine after his arrest at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA). Two others nabbed by operatives of the agency at the same airport also excreted a total of 191 pellets of heroin and cocaine while under observation.
Babafemi said on April 10 during the outward screening of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Italy, operatives at the MMIA intercepted and referred one Chukwudi Destiny for scanning and the scan result proved positive to drug ingestion.
Also on April 12, during the inbound examination of consignments on an Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight from South Africa, operatives at SAHCO import shed made a seizure of 11.550kg of heroin cleverly packed and concealed in corn flakes cartons. Four clearing agents are in custody in connection to the matter.
Ugly trend?
Now on a weekly basis, the anti-narcotic agency ties up the figures and it appears that there is no letup on the part of the drug agents.
On May 25, one Agudozie Peter Ihie attempted bringing into Nigeria 76 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.150kg, but he was arrested during an inward security clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airlines flight from Kenya. At the point of arrest, he was found in possession of 36 pellets of cocaine concealed in his pants.
While under observation, Peter reportedly excreted additional 40 pellets during preliminary interrogation and confessed to having swallowed the drugs in Nairobi but became pressed during the transit period in Doha and excreted some wraps onboard the aircraft en route to Lagos.
Barely two hours after the arrest of Agudozie Peter Ihie for cocaine ingestion, NDLEA operatives at the SAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport also intercepted 4.2 kilograms of heroin bound for Italy. While two freight forwarders have been arrested in connection to the seizure, during preliminary interview, one of the suspects stated that the consignment belonged to one of his customers based in Italy, and that it was sent to him from Benin, Edo State, through a transport company.
On May 26, during the inward security clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airlines flight from Doha, NDLEA operatives at the arrival hall of the airport again arrested one Nnakaihe Ikechukwu with 600 grams of cocaine. The drug was concealed inside Ankara dress buttons. The suspect, who hails from Imo State, had in his possession a Ghanaian passport. The name on the passport was ‘Peprah Livinus’. On the same date, NDLEA operatives at the NAHCO export shed of MMIA intercepted 30.150 kg of Cannabis Sativa meant for Manchester in the United Kingdom via British Airways and arrested one Anyanwu Chika, a cargo bag stitcher, in connection to the bid. The drug was concealed inside 30 pieces of bankus palm nut cream tin (banga soup) after emptying the real content. In his confessional statement, he admitted to having been contracted by one of his customers based in Manchester and had negotiated with him for the sum of N1 million but he had only been paid only N700, 000.
On Thursday, 3 June, 2021, operatives equally intercepted 11 parcels of heroin weighing 1.2kg concealed in eleven packs of a certain brand of noodles at SAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport. The drug was billed to go with Ethiopian Airlines to Malaysia via Addis-Ababa. A freight agent and an errand boy for the owner of the exhibit were arrested in connection to the foiled bid.
‘We’ll soon deal with a foreign airline’
In the exclusive chat with Saturday Tribune, Babafemi was unequivocal about a foreign airline suspected to be in cahoots with drug barons and agents.
He said: “The traffickers we have arrested came in or were about to fly out in various airlines. Perhaps certain airlines may have more frequency because they run flights to and fro countries classified as ‘source countries’, according to drug categorisation.
“Without exonerating the airlines, you might also want to look at the anti-drug screening at the airport where the suspects were coming from. We have nabbed quite a number of suspects trying to move out of Nigeria before they could board their flights. So, it is not so much about the airlines, but the screening at the other end where the traffickers are coming from. However, I can comfortably tell you that the agency is taking specific actions against the airline in question.
“And we are working to broker new partnerships in areas where we had none before. In due course, we would have formed a web of partnerships with all relevant stakeholders and it will be suicidal for drug barons and traffickers to operate in the Nigerian territory.”
A resurgence?
The NDLEA spokesman disagreed that there is a resurgence in drug deals in Lagos, saying the perpetrators are just being smoked out like never before, despite the resilience of the offenders.
He sai: “No excuse can justify any criminal act. But most of those arrested tried to hide under the excuse that they were ignorant about their action or about what the law says. We have also noticed that some of them are vulnerable because they thought trafficking would give them quick money and bail them out of their financial challenges. Overall, the big picture tells us that there is the need for mass education and sensitisation about drug abuse vis-a-vis the consequences awaiting those caught in the act.
“There is also the need for orientation for the public that the new NDLEA will get anyone who gets involved in drug trafficking or abuse. By the time we drive the message home, I am certain that drug trafficking will become a turf where anyone will fear to tread.
“I don’t think resurgence is the right word to use. By resurgence, it means, there had been a lull in drug trafficking and now suddenly, the activity is gaining impetus. I would rather put it this way: we are beginning to know the magnitude of the drug trafficking in and out of Nigeria because of the renewed efforts of the NDLEA under the leadership of General Marwa which has brought to the fore a problem that had eaten deep and permeated every community in the country. The renewed fight by the NDLEA and the volume of activities highlight the reality that has always been there.”
N30bn slush fund under probe
Without providing details, Babafemi hinted Saturday Tribune of the ongoing probe at an alleged N30 billion slush fund suspected to be proceeds of illicit drugs but hidden under a legitimate business. He said that was the new ground the agency is breaking.
He said: “General Buba Marwa, since coming to the NDLEA, has unveiled a master plan that takes a holistic approach to drug issues. The core of his strategy, defined by the maxim of “Offensive Action,” is aimed at whittling down drug supply and drug demand in the system.
“At the same time, we have retooled our Directorate of Assets and Financial Investigations to go after those who try to hide their trade and trafficking in drug behind legitimate businesses. As we speak, we are in the middle of a N30 billion slush fund believed to be proceeds of drug trafficking.
“The agency is also trying to solve the drug abuse calculus from the public health perspective, which means we now emphasise treatment and rehabilitation as well. Marwa is also working to get everyone involved in the fight against the use and trafficking of illicit substances, which is why he has kickstarted a massive advocacy campaign. The aim is to entrench the drug war in the society and everyone takes it up as a personal duty.”
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