The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized 112.127 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated value of N86.5 billion within 16 days, 21st Century Chronicle investigations have revealed.
The substances were intercepted by the anti-drug agency from January 24 to February 8, 2021 at different locations from passengers returning from or going to “high risk countries” such as Brazil, United Arab Emirate, Italy and India.
On 24 January, just two day before the appointment of retired General Buba Marwa as chairman and chief executive of the NDLEA, the agency arrested one Edosa Christopher with 9.950 kilograms of cocaine estimated at N7.6 billion.
Christopher, who was on his way to Italy from Nigeria through Lagos, tested positive for hard drug ingestion and transferred to NDLEA/JBTF office for stool observation which revealed a total of 68 wraps of substances that tested positive for cocaine.
Three days later the agency made what it called its biggest single seizure from an individual in 15 years. Onyejebu Ifesinachi Jennifer was apprehended at Murtala Muhammed International airport ikeja Lagos with cocaine weighing 26.840kg, while returning from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The NDLEA put the street value of the seizure at N21 billion.
Two days before Ifesinachi’s arrest the NDLEA apprehended three persons, Abubakar Aliyu, Emmanuel Iyke Aniebonam, and Onwurah Kelvin, in connection to a bag abandoned at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos, containing 8.2kg cocaine put at N7.560 billion street value.
On what looked like a daily seizure of cocaine, the NDLEA operatives on February 2 arrested 39-year-old Onu Oluchukwu Friday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, during the outward clearance of India bound Ethiopian Airline ET910 en route Abuja-Addis Ababa-New Delhi; and the following day they apprehended Adeleke Kazeem Biola at Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos during passengers’ clearance on Emirate Airline to Dubai.
Friday was arrested with 1.527kg of cocaine N1.26 billion worth, while Biola’s 1.5kg of cocaine was worth N1.2 billion.
The largest seizure within two months this year was on February 8 at Tincan Port Lagos. The NDLEA seized cocaine worth N32 billion. The agency’s Tincan port Commander Sumaila Ethna said the 43.11kg of cocaine was concealed in a consignment that arrived Nigeria from Brazil on board a vessel marked MV SPAR SCORPIO. Two clearing agents were arrested in connection to the seizure.
