By Deborah Nnamdi
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have thwarted an attempt by a 24-year-old Thai lady, Ms. Pattaphi Wimonnat, to smuggle 43 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 46.60 kilograms, into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.
The NDLEA said Wimonnat was arrested after its operatives discovered the illicit consignment in her boxes.
This was contained in a statement by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja.
Babafemi said the suspect, who confessed to being a hired drug trafficker, was arrested on Thursday during the inward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight from Thailand via Doha, Qatar, at the arrival hall, Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport.
According to the statement, Wimonnat said the drug cartel that recruited her had promised to pay her $3,000 upon the successful delivery of the illicit drug consignment in Nigeria.
Similarly, Babafemi disclosed that NDLEA officers frustrated another bid by a drug trafficking syndicate to ship 68 parcels of Ghanaian Loud, with a total weight of 42.2kg, concealed in the walls of crated cartons to London, UK, through the export shed of the Lagos airport on Friday.
The NDLEA stated: “Three suspects, a freight agent, and two dispatch riders were initially arrested in connection with the seizure before the mastermind of the shipment, Samuel Bitris, was swiftly traced to his Exodus Estate, Ajah, Lagos home, where he was arrested.”
“At the Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers State, NDLEA officers on Thursday, 20th February, intercepted 49 cartons containing 49,000 pills of Tamol, a brand of Tramadol 225mg, in a 40ft container during a joint examination of the shipment with men of the Customs Service and other security agencies.
“In Nasarawa State, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 22nd February, arrested two suspects: Bello Adamu, 40, and Pius Azuka, 42, at Kokona/Keffi with 517kg of skunk, while two other suspects, Usman Ruwa, 43, and Yunusa Haruna, 45, were nabbed in a Toyota Corolla car conveying 62.7 kilograms of skunk along Sabon Asibiti Road, Kontagora, Niger State, on Thursday, 20th February,” Babafemi added.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of MMIA, PHPC, Niger, and Nasarawa Commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures.
Marwa stated that their operational successes, along with those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, are well appreciated.
