NDLEA arrests 75-year-old grandpa in Ekiti, 70-year-old grandma in Benue for illicit drugs dealing

THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Friday arrested a 75-year-old grandpa, Jibril (surname withheld) with 7.5 kilogrammes of cannabis at Oke-asa village, Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti State during a raid.

The Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, said in a statement on Sunday that the agency also arrested a 70-year-old grandma, Tikwase (surname withheld)  with 15.6 kilogramme of same substance on May 9 during an operation at Achusa and International Market road, Makurdi, Benue State.

The agency, the statement said, also intercepted three trailer loads of opioids comprising 3,450,000 pills and 344,000 bottles of codeine syrup at Abule Ado in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, where three suspects were also arrested in connection with the seizures.

Babafemi said the multi-billion naira consignments were loaded into two 40-foot container trucks and another 20-foot truck at a terminal at Abule-Osun, near the International Trade Fair complex before heading to a large warehouse at Abule-Ado, where NDLEA officers eventually arrested the suspects and recovered the opioid consignments.

Those arrested include the warehouse agent, drivers of the two trucks, while the third driver jumped off to escape arrest.

In the same vein, NDLEA operatives on May 7 arrested a suspect, Nwankwo (surname withheld) at Coker area of Lagos, where 100 litres of codeine syrup were recovered from him, while 60 litres of the same substance were seized from one Clinton (surname withheld) at the same area same day.

Not less than 37.5 kilogramme of cannabis sativa loaded in a Toyota Camry car was recovered from another suspect, Segun (surname withheld), when the car was intercepted at Mile 12 area of Lagos on May 6.

Another consignment of opioids consisting of 59,106 pills of tramadol and different quantities of codeine syrup and Rohypnol being taken across the border to Garua, Cameroon was intercepted by NDLEA officers on May 6 along Mubi-Yola road in Adamawa State. Two suspects linked to the drugs, Abubakar (surname withheld) and Adamu, a trans-border trafficker who was to take the consignment from Mubi across to Cameroon, were promptly arrested.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives on Saturday raided the Iguiye forest in Ovia North East Local Government Area, where a total of 11, 636.185 kilogramme cannabis was destroyed on three farms measuring 4.654474 hectares, while additional 188 kilogramme of the same psychoactive substance was recovered and a suspect was arrested during the overnight operation.

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