The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested three persons living with disabilities for alleged drug trafficking in separate operations carried out in Anambra and Kwara states, as the agency also recorded major drug seizures across the country, including a multi-billion-naira cannabis haul in Lagos.
The development was disclosed on Sunday in a statement issued by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to the statement, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence tracked a 60-year-old suspect, Romanus Nwabara, to Akpaka Forest in Onitsha, Anambra State, where he was arrested with 250 grams of skunk packaged in retail sachets.
In another operation in Ogbunike, also in Anambra State, officers arrested 25-year-old Amos Kenneth, another suspect living with disability, with 160.3 grams of Tramadol, 80 pills of Diazepam, 38.23 grams of Exol-5, and 176.93 grams of skunk.
In Kwara State, operatives on patrol along Bode Saadu intercepted a commercial vehicle and recovered 6.3 kilograms of skunk concealed in a brown school bag belonging to a passenger identified as Usman Salisu, who is also living with disability.
In what was described as one of the agency’s most significant seizures, operatives of the NDLEA Special Operations Unit raided a mansion in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, allegedly being used as a drug stash house.
During the operation, officers recovered 4,000 parcels of “Loud,” a potent imported strain of cannabis, weighing 2,326 kilograms and estimated to have a street value of over N5.815 billion. Two Mercedes-Benz buses and designer packaging materials believed to be used for retail distribution were also recovered from the property.
In Nasarawa State, NDLEA operatives arrested 38-year-old Emmanuel Osita Okeke in Nyanya-Karu with 129 kilograms of skunk.
Similarly, along the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State, officers intercepted a commuter bus heading to Abuja and recovered 76 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 766 kilograms. Three suspects identified as Mathew Omohove, Ebuka Desmond, and Babangida Musa were taken into custody.
In another raid at Ijora Badia, operatives stormed a makeshift skuchies production facility and arrested two suspects, Bose Jamiu and Gbenga Gege, who were allegedly processing cannabis mixed with other illicit substances. Officers recovered 270 litres of the substance, popularly known as skunk, alongside 106 grams of Tramadol.
The agency also said it has sustained its War Against Drug Abuse advocacy campaign across schools, communities, workplaces, and traditional institutions nationwide, with sensitisation programmes recently held in Nasarawa, Ekiti, Enugu, Abia, Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Kano, and Oyo states.
Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised their commitment to curbing drug supply while sustaining public awareness efforts against substance abuse, urging personnel across the country to maintain the momentum in the fight against illicit drugs.
