By Deborah Nnamdi
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in the early hours of Sunday, October 26, raided Proxy Nightclub located at 7 Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, where a drug party was reportedly taking place. Over 100 suspects were arrested during the operation.
Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, confirmed that among those arrested was the owner of the club, Mike Eze Nwalie Nwogu, popularly known as Pretty Mike, who was taken into custody for screening. He said cartons of illicit substances, including Loud and laughing gas, were recovered from the suspects and from the club’s store.
Babafemi explained that the raid followed credible intelligence about the planned drug party. NDLEA operatives who had been embedded at the event since 11 p.m. on Saturday disrupted the gathering at about 3 a.m. on Sunday in line with standard operating procedures.
In a related operation, NDLEA officers uncovered 70 parcels of cocaine concealed inside cocoa butter body cream containers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The consignment, weighing 3.60 kilograms and bound for London, was intercepted on October 14 during cargo screening. Three suspects, including cargo agent Lawal Mustapha Olakunle, female healthcare worker Ogunmuyide Taiwo Deborah, and travel agency CEO Mutiu Adebayo Adebiyi, were arrested in connection with the attempt to export the drugs.
At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, NDLEA operatives also intercepted 103.59 grams of methamphetamine hidden in a coffee tea pack destined for the Philippines. The suspect, a 35-year-old Lesotho national, Lemena Mark, was arrested on October 22.
In Kwara State, 40-year-old Umar Abubakar was arrested at Bode Saadu, Moro Local Government Area, with 21,950 capsules of tramadol 250mg concealed in a 100-litre water heater. Similarly, NDLEA officers in Taraba State arrested two suspects, Auwal Musa and Salihu Bala, with 450,000 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 concealed in a truck conveying building materials from Onitsha to Mubi.
Further operations across Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Lagos, Abia, and Zamfara States led to multiple arrests and the recovery of large quantities of narcotics. In Kogi, 162.2 kilograms of cannabis were seized from a truck along the Okene-Lokoja highway, while 128 kilograms were recovered in Nasarawa from 55-year-old Abubakar Muhammad.
A mother of two, identified as Oyonumoh Glory Effiong, was arrested in Lekki for distributing Canadian and California Loud in Lekki, Ajah, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and VGC areas. At her residence, 500 grams of the substances were recovered. Another suspect, Ogunyabo Adenigbigbe, was arrested in Ikorodu with 275 litres of skuchies — a drink made with cannabis, blackcurrant, and opioids.
In Abia State, a 75-year-old grandfather, Echendu Onuoka, and a 60-year-old grandmother, Aukana John, were arrested with 4.7 kilograms and 225 grams of cannabis respectively. In Ondo and Kaduna States, over 384 kilograms of cannabis and thousands of tramadol and rohypnol pills were seized.
NDLEA operatives at the Seme border area of Lagos also arrested two suspects — Jacob Ojugbele with 55 kilograms of cannabis and Amusa Oluwabukola with 121.3 litres of skuchies. In Zamfara State, officers intercepted a suspect, Abubakar Ibrahim, with an AK-47 rifle and 1,746 rounds of ammunition en route to the Bagega forest in Anka Local Government Area.
Meanwhile, NDLEA commands across the country intensified their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in schools, worship centres, and workplaces. Beneficiaries included students and staff of schools in Oyo, Kebbi, Enugu, Benue, Taraba, Rivers, and Kano States.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of the agency across the various states for their commitment to the fight against drug trafficking and abuse, urging them to sustain their balanced approach to drug control efforts nationwide.
