By IBIRONKE ARIYO

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 74-year-old grandpa for drug trafficking at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja.

This is contained in a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi on Sunday in Abuja.

Babafemi said that his arrest came after a large consignment of cocaine was discovered in foil papers and balloons concealed in his luggage.

He said that the septuagenarian who claimed he was travelling to London, United Kingdom for vacation, was arrested by NDLEA officers at the departure hall of the Abuja airport.

This, he said, was while attempting to board a British Airways flight BA082 to Heathrow London on Saturday.

“During a search of his luggage, blocks of cocaine weighing 11 kilograms were discovered concealed inside food items, including ground dry pepper, carefully wrapped in foil papers and balloons,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Lagos, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence in the early hours of Monday arrested a woman at Ikad Hotel and Suites, on Etim Inyang Street, Victoria Island.

Babafemi said that she was arrested while attempting to sell 89grams of cocaine and 20grams of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis.

According to him, the suspect was found with her three children, including an infant, at the time of the arrest.

“She confessed the illicit drugs belong to her husband who was later taken into custody the same day while his wife was immediately set free.

“The husband confirmed ownership of the illicit drugs in his statement while further investigation revealed that he had previously been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to two and a half years Imprisonment for a similar offence in 2015,”

In another interdiction operation, Babafemi said that NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects at Ebetu Ero, Lagos Island where they recovered 68,000 pills of tramadol 250mg and 225mg.

This, he said, was after the suspects had loaded the exhibits into their truck and were preparing to transport them to Benin Republic on Monday.

“A follow-up operation was conducted on Wednesday, March 11 at Idumota market, Lagos Island, where the actual owner of the consignment was arrested.

“A search of his shop led to the discovery of a parcel already prepared for waybill delivery, containing 1,000 tablets of tramadol 250mg.

“Another raid at Idumota market on Friday, March 13 led to the arrest of another suspect and the recovery of 47,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection from his shop,” he said.

In another development, Babafemi said that a 42-year-old suspect was arrested at Bebeji area of Kano with 386kg skunk on Tuesday.

Also, NDLEA officers in Abuja recovered 282.2kg skunk from a suspect Isah in Gwagwalada area of the FCT on Friday.

Additionally, in Edo, NDLEA operatives raided the Egwa forest reserve in Aduan village, Orhionmwon LGA where a suspect was apprehended.

Babafemi said that a total of 4,218.96kg of skunk was destroyed on two farms with 16.5kg of the same substance recovered.

In the same vein, no fewer than 339,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup were intercepted in two containers at the Apapa seaport in Lagos on Saturday.

This, he said, was during a joint examination of the shipments by NDLEA officers, men of Customs and other security agencies.

“The containers had earlier been watch-listed by NDLEA following credible intelligence on concealment of opioids in them,” he said.

The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands equally continued across the country in the past week.

Some of them include: WADA sensitisation lecture delivered to students and staff of ERCC Secondary School, Duguru, Nasarawa; Awoyemi Commercial High School, Okeho, Oyo; Ogunu Primary School, Ogunu, Delta;

Also, Seven Angels University Secondary School, Ikot Enobong, Calabar, Cross River; and Edo National College, Iguobazuwa, Edo state, while the Zone 11 Command of NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru of Ebonyi among others.

The NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa commended the officers and men of NAIA, Lagos, Kano, Edo and FCT Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week.

Marwa also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts. (NAN)

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