By Deborah Nnamdi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA has announced the arrest of a US-trained Hollywood and Nollywood filmmaker, Emeka Emmanuel Mbadiwe, who is also a motivational speaker.
Mbadiwe was arrested in his hotel room in Lekki after the arrest of his partner, Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James, earlier that same day at a warehouse in Ajao Estate, Ikeja.
According to a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, January 5, James was sent by Mbadiwe to retrieve a shipment of 33 parcels of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis weighing 17.30 kilograms.
The shipment arrived at the import shed of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, on December 24, 2024, from the United States on a Delta Airlines flight, concealed in large wooden boxes.
Announcing other interceptions, Babafemi noted, “In Kwara State, a fresh graduate, Khadijat Abdulraheem, 24, and a 20-year-old student of the University of Ilorin, Ayomide Morakinyo, were arrested on Sunday, December 29, 2024, by NDLEA operatives along Tanke-University of Ilorin Road, Oke Odo, Ilorin.
They were found to be producing and selling drug-laced cupcakes to students in the community. A search of their apartment revealed 42 pieces of the drugged cakes.”
Babafemi continued, “An ex-convict, Sodade Sunday Eniola, who was arrested by operatives of the Tincan Command of NDLEA in June 2024 for drug trafficking, prosecuted, and sentenced to four years in prison, has been arrested again by officers of the MMIA Strategic Command for passport racketeering.
After his conviction by a Federal High Court in Lagos on June 14, 2024, he paid a fine of ₦750,000 and was released.
“However, in a series of operations in December 2024, NDLEA operatives at the export shed of Lagos airport intercepted 52 passports of different countries concealed in shoe soles and food items.
“Further investigations led to the arrest of four members of three syndicates involved in the racket. The suspects, Sodade Sunday Eniola, Ayinde Saheed Awwal, Salaudeen Afeez Ayode, and Sheriff Adebayo Bamigbade, were handed over to the Zonal Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service in Lagos on December 30, 2024, for further investigation and possible prosecution.”
In another development, NDLEA officers at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, recovered 316,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup from two containers during a joint examination of the shipments with Nigeria Customs and other security agencies on December 31, 2024.
The seizure followed credible intelligence processed by the Port Harcourt Port Command.In Kano, NDLEA operatives raided Mafarki, Dan Dishe, in Dala Local Government Area on December 31, 2024, recovering 149,090 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 from a local dealer, 45-year-old Ismail Muhammad.
Reacting to the developments, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of the MMIA, Lagos, Kano, PHPC, and Kwara Commands for their arrests and seizures.
Marwa praised their operational successes and highlighted the importance of their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
