Port Harcourt, Rivers State – Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended a female suspect, identified as Ihensekhien Miracle Obehi, at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
The suspect was intercepted on Friday, May 3rd, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight destined for Iran, via Doha.
According to a statement released by the Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, Obehi had concealed a significant quantity of cocaine within her person and belongings.
A thorough search revealed three wraps of cocaine inserted in her private part, two large parcels concealed in false compartments of her handbag, and 67 pellets of the illicit substance which she had ingested. Subsequent observation confirmed the excretion of the 67 swallowed pellets.
The suspect confessed to intending to swallow 70 pellets but was unable to ingest the final three, leading her to conceal them within her private parts. The total weight of the seized cocaine amounted to 2.523 kilograms.
In a separate incident at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, on Friday, May 9th, NDLEA operatives arrested a 22-year-old British national, Campell Kaizra Kofi Johannes Slifer.
He arrived on a Qatar Airways flight from Thailand, via Doha, and was found to be in possession of two suitcases containing 35 parcels of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 37.60 kilograms.
The suspect, who admitted to two prior drug trafficking and robbery convictions in the United Kingdom, stated he was recruited in London to transport the illicit consignment from Thailand to Nigeria.
Further operations across the nation yielded additional successes.
In Niger State, on Wednesday, May 7th, intelligence-led operations resulted in the interception of a fuel truck and three other vehicles along the Suleja-Kaduna Road. The vehicles were found to be transporting 246 bags of skunk, weighing a total of 3,047 kilograms. Four suspects, Christopher Onyema (47), Benedict Etineruba Young (54), Chukwudi Ujue Jerry (30), and Mohammed Abdullahi Danasabe, were apprehended in connection with this seizure.
The vehicles involved included a Honda Odyssey bus (YAB 667 CZ), a Gulf bus (GWA 125 TQ), and another Honda Odyssey bus (ABJ 230 CN).
In Lagos, on Thursday, May 8th, at Oja Amukoko in Ijora, operatives arrested Eze Chekube Emmanuel and Ike Samuel Chinyerem with 109,914 pills of tramadol, swinol, and nitrozepam. In Kaduna State, on Tuesday, May 6th, 52.5kg of skunk was recovered from Lukman Sabo Umar (23) and Tukur Ammadu (20) in a bus at Gwantu, Sanga LGA. Additionally, in Kwara State, on Monday, May 5th, Rufai Nasiru was apprehended along the Bode Saadu-Jebba expressway with 45,400 pills of tramadol 225mg.
Further successes included the interception of a Toyota Tundra jeep (RBC 111 DW) on the Bauchi-Gombe Road in Bauchi State on Monday, May 6th, conveying 526 blocks of skunk weighing 505kg. Two suspects, Isaac Onogure (37) and Ikechukwu Peter (44), were arrested.
In Kano, on Saturday, May 10th, a raid on a hideout at Rijiyar Zaki led to the recovery of 31 kegs containing 775 litres of codeine syrup, and the arrest of Hafizu Isa Uman (34) and Ismail Shehu (48). Lastly, in Lagos, on Tuesday, May 6th, 1.1kg of Loud concealed in a pillow originating from Thailand was intercepted at a courier firm.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the dedication and efforts of the officers involved in these significant seizures across the country.
