The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs in seven states across the country.
The affected states are Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Ondo, Oyo and Edo, where the seizures were made in a series of intelligence-led operations.
This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the agency’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi.
Breaking down the operations, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives, acting on actionable intelligence about the movement of skunk, intercepted a white Volkswagen LT 28 bus along Kudirat Abiola Way, Ikeja, Lagos.
He said the operatives recovered 537kg of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, on Sunday, October 25, while it was being transported from the Island to the Mainland.
“The same day, another team of officers intercepted a brown J5 bus along the Gbagada–Oshodi expressway, with 439 kilograms of the same substance seized,” he said.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives conducted a follow-up operation on Thursday at Idere road, Igboora, where two suspects were arrested.
Babafemi said the suspects were arrested while loading 554 kilograms of skunk into a Volvo truck for onward movement into town.
“The operation targeted a notorious drug dealer known as ‘Omo Oba’, who escaped arrest on October 25.
“This happened when officers seized 309.5 kilograms of the strong cannabis strain popularly called ‘Ghanaian Loud’ linked to him,” he said.
In Kano State, NDLEA operatives raided a location in the Tsamiya area of Gezawa on Monday, where they recovered 247,500 tablets of diazepam weighing 57.7 kilograms and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 weighing 38.7 kilograms.
“Two days later, on Wednesday, October 28, another team of officers stormed Dorayi area of the state, where they arrested two suspects with 19,250 pills of tramadol 225mg weighing 13.6 kilograms,” Babafemi said.
According to him, officers also raided the Tashan Banke area of the state, arresting seven suspects and recovering 178.85 kilograms of cannabis, alongside quantities of diazepam, tramadol, Exol-5 and pregabalin.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence raided cannabis farms in Ijare forest on October 25.
Babafemi said four suspects were arrested, while a total of 16 bags of processed cannabis weighing 180 kilograms were recovered from the farms.
In Edo State, a team of NDLEA operatives supported by soldiers raided Eko Camp in Ilushi, Esan South East Local Government Area, on Wednesday.
Babafemi said a cannabis plantation measuring 1.646 hectares, with an estimated yield of 4,115.53 kilograms, was destroyed during the operation.
“A 50-year-old woman was arrested at the camp with 301 kilograms of processed cannabis, while another 176 kilograms of the drug was recovered during the raid,” he said.
In Sokoto State, operatives of the NDLEA’s Zone 7 Command, acting on credible intelligence, arrested a 68-year-old man with 236.6 kilograms of skunk on Saturday.
