•Seizes 8.3million tramadol caps, codeine in Lagos

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 22-year-old lady, Amaka Ogonachukwu, for attempting to smuggle wraps of cocaine concealed in cooked white rice for her boyfriend, Monday Imagbebenikaro, in custody of the Edo State command of the agency.

Imagbebenikaro, 40, was arrested earlier along Airport Road, Benin City, in Oredo Local Council for dealing in crack cocaine, Cannabis Sativa and Danabel (Anabolic steroids).

In a related development, the agency also arrested an outbound passenger to Italy on Turkish Airline, Ovire Cyril with 114 wraps of heroin with a gross weight of 1.80kg during routine search at Gate “C’ Departure Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

The drugs were concealed inside the pockets of four jean trousers, packed in a black suitcase. NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in a statement yesterday, said the suspect, who confessed that he was pushed into the crime by hardship after he lost his Job, claimed he was promised Five Thousand Euros (€5,000.00) if he successfully delivers the consignment in Italy.

According to him, the agency, same day, arrested a male passenger, Osakue Evbuomwan travelling to Milan, Italy , with 1.55kg of Tramadol concealed in a ‘Ghana must go’ bag, during outward clearance of Ethiopian Airline passengers’ luggages at the same gate.

Babafemi   stressed that the agency has also frustrated desperate bids by drug cartels to push out millions of illicit drug tablets across Lagos and other parts of the country for the festive season, with seizure of 8,381,600 capsules and tablets of Tramadol as well as 56,782 bottles of codeine among others in major raids in Lagos State.

In another raid on Monday, December 20, he noted that the agency, following surveillance in a notorious neighbourhood at Alaba Rago, Alaba area of Lagos, arrested one Surajo Mohammed with 941.14kg cannabis, while 56,782 bottles of codeine were seized from the store of another drug lord still at large.

Babafemi also said NDLEA’s chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), ahead of Christmas, had ordered a sustained surveillance on some targets at Satellite town and Alaba Rago areas of Lagos.

The Satellite town target, he said, was eventually raided on Thursday, December 23, when drug kingpin, Ezekiel Ibe was arrested and over five tons of high milligrammes of Tramadol; 225mg and 100mg recovered from his warehouse.

A breakdown of the seized drug, he said, showed 7,991,600 Tramadol tablets and 390,000 capsules of the same weighing 5,468.894 kilogrammes.

Commending officers and men of the Lagos, Edo and MMIA commands of the agency for not letting down their guard during the festive season, Gen. Marwa assured them and their counterparts in other commands that his leadership would always reward exemplary performance, while charging them to remain focused and always aspire to surpass previous feats.(The Guardian: Excludes headline)

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