By Uche Amunike
Officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have arrested a community leader in Osun State, Ba’ale Ige Babatunde and a Kano-based corps member, Yusuf Abdulrahman, on Friday, for being in possession of drugs meant for drugs meant to be trafficked by them.
Speaking, through a statement signed and released by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the 50 year-old Osun monarch was caught with fresh Cannabis plants that weighed 5kg.
According to Babafemi, the corps member, on his part, was nabbed with drugs that weighed 1.25kg at a corpse’s lodge in Kano State.
He further stated that the NDLEA operatives raided the hideout of a high-profile cocaine baron led by a couple in Lagos State, recovering consignments of the class A drug that were ready for export and local distribution. According to the statement, a total of 10.1 kilograms by of the substance worth N2.1 billion in street value were recovered from the suspects.
His words: ‘Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have raided the Lagos base of a high-profile cocaine syndicate headed by a couple: Agbakoba John Mmadu, and Agbakoba Ijeoma Chinwe as well as their associate, Okoye Ifeoma Maryjane, where large consignments of the class A drug meant for export and local distribution were recovered.’
‘The raid carried out by a special operations unit of the agency followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance on the syndicate notorious for packaging, distributing and trafficking of cocaine within and outside Nigeria.’
‘The 54-year-old Agbakoba John Mmadu was arrested at Ago Palace Way, Okota while his wife, Agbakoba Ijeoma Chinwe, 39, and associate, Okoye Ifeoma Maryjane, 31, who doubles as their stash keeper, were nabbed at Plot 2205 Eugene Ndubisi Close, Lilly Estate, Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos, all on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.’
‘While seven parcels of cocaine with a total weight of 7.652 kilograms were recovered from Mmadu at the Ago Palace Way residence, no fewer than 122 compressed pellets of the same drug weighing 2.42kg were seized from the duo of Ijeoma and Ifeoma at the Lilly Estate, bringing the total seizure to 10.1 kilograms valued at over N2.1bn in street value.’
Benue state was not left out in the raid as NDLEA officers in the state also intercepted a consignment of 350 grams of cocaine at a checkpoint along Enugu Road, in Oturkpo on Thursday, July 4.
According to Babafemi, the anti-drug agency intercepted the drugs which were hidden in an MP3 speaker that was couriered as a waybill parcel. Unfortunately for the dealer, who is a 25 year-old man, Odeh Anthony, he was arrested by the NDLEA operatives after they carried out a swift follow-up operation at the Flight Motor Park, as the illicit drug was discovered.
The NDLEA also made arrests in the Federal Capital Territory on Saturday, July 6, where they nabbed 28 year-old Sanusi Mamman and 20 year-old Usaini Ibrahim along the Abaji-Gwarimpa axis, where they were caught with 1,132 bottles of codeine syrup, 13,540 pills of tramadol, 59 pills of Rophynol and 50,000 pills of diazepam in the vehicle they boarded.
On interrogation, they claimed that they were bringing the opioids from Onitsha, Anambra State.
