Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have apprehended a 74-year-old man, Ikwuakalom Emeka, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for allegedly attempting to traffic 11 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside food items to the United Kingdom.
The elderly suspect was arrested at the airport’s departure terminal while preparing to board British Airways flight BA082 bound for Heathrow, London, on Saturday.
The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday, explaining that the illicit consignment was uncovered during a routine search of the suspect’s luggage.
According to him, the drugs had been packaged in foil sheets and balloons before being carefully hidden inside food items, including ground dry pepper.
Babafemi said the suspect claimed he was travelling to London for a vacation when he was intercepted by anti-narcotics operatives at the airport.
He added that the operation formed part of a series of arrests and drug seizures recorded by the agency across different parts of the country in the past week.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested a woman, Maryam Olalowo, at Ikad Hotel and Suites located on Etim Inyang Street, Victoria Island, while she was allegedly attempting to sell 89 grams of cocaine and 20 grams of Canadian Loud, a variety of cannabis.
Babafemi stated that the suspect was apprehended in the early hours of March 9 following actionable intelligence, noting that she had her three children, including a baby, with her at the time of the arrest.
Preliminary investigation showed that Olalowo claimed the drugs belonged to her husband, Ibrahim Olalowo Olatunji, who was later arrested the same day.
Further checks revealed that Olatunji had previously been arrested, convicted and sentenced to two and a half years in prison for a similar drug-related offence in 2015.
In another operation on Lagos Island, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Kalilou Simpara and Saidu Ibrahim, after intercepting a truck carrying 68,000 tramadol tablets allegedly intended for transportation to Benin Republic.
A follow-up raid at Idumota Market led to the arrest of Nnamdi Cyprian, believed to be the owner of the consignment. Officers also recovered a parcel containing 1,000 tramadol tablets packaged for waybill delivery from his shop.
During another raid at the same market, operatives arrested Nwanosike Kelvin and recovered 47,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection.
Elsewhere, a 42-year-old suspect, Magaji Dan Azumi, was arrested with 386 kilograms of skunk in Bebeji, Kano State, while another suspect, Isah Wako, was apprehended with 282.2 kilograms of the same substance in Gwagwalada, Abuja.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives stormed the Egwa Forest Reserve in Orhionmwon Local Government Area, where they arrested a 33-year-old suspect, Chinedo Odalonu. During the operation, officers destroyed 4,218.96 kilograms of skunk cultivated on two farms and recovered an additional 16.5 kilograms of the substance.
At Apapa Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives working alongside officials of the Nigeria Customs Service intercepted 339,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup concealed in two containers that had been placed on a watch list based on intelligence reports.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Buba Marwa, commended officers in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Edo states for the successful arrests and seizures recorded during the period.
He urged them to maintain the momentum in the agency’s ongoing efforts to curb the trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs across the country.
