The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its crackdown on drug trafficking across the country, intercepting a massive consignment of opioids hidden in a truck in Taraba State and arresting several suspects, including a 75-year-old man in Ebonyi State.
The agency disclosed on Sunday that operatives acting on intelligence intercepted a truck transporting building materials from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Jalingo, Taraba State, where a large cache of illicit drugs was concealed beneath the cargo.
According to a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, a thorough search of the vehicle at Nukkai Timber Shade in Jalingo led to the arrest of 22-year-old Buhari Abdullahi and the recovery of 320,840 capsules of tramadol.
The agency said other substances recovered from the truck included 600 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 4,500 tablets of rohypnol, and 299 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup.
In a separate operation in Ebonyi State, NDLEA operatives arrested 75-year-old Okebe Samuel at Okposi. The suspect was allegedly found with 300 grams of skunk packaged for retail distribution.
The agency said the septuagenarian had been supplying the illicit substance to young people within his community, stressing that age would not shield offenders from prosecution.
Elsewhere, anti-narcotics officers raided a drug hideout in Umulolo, Orlu, Imo State, where 32-year-old Chioma Okeke was arrested and eight kilograms of skunk recovered.
In Edo State, four suspected traffickers, including three women, were apprehended during separate raids in Benin City.
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The suspects identified as Chioma Igba, 24, and Precious Ozomah, 22, were arrested in the Uyosa area with quantities of skunk, Loud, and methamphetamine. Another suspect, Anita Abraham, 21, was arrested along Agbor Road with different variants of cannabis products, while Henry Okey, 43, was nabbed at Upper Mission with assorted psychotropic substances.
Further operations in Kano State led to the arrest of 19-year-old Saifullahi Lawan at Kafi in Madobi Local Government Area. He was allegedly caught with 40 blocks of skunk weighing 38 kilograms.
In Gombe State, operatives intercepted 28-year-old Ugwu Sabastine Ifebuchi near Dantiti Plaza in the Tumfure area, where 15,000 capsules of tramadol were recovered from him.
Beyond enforcement activities, the agency said its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign continued in schools across Oyo, Lagos, Anambra, and Kano states as part of efforts to discourage drug abuse among young Nigerians.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations and reiterated the agency’s commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks nationwide.
He said the agency would continue to pursue traffickers regardless of age, gender, or the methods used to conceal illicit substances.
