The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has thwarted drug syndicates’ attempts to export methamphetamine and opioids hidden in jeans, dolls, buttons, soap, and milo tins to Europe, the United Arab Emirates, and Asia.
This was revealed in a statement written by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy, and uploaded on the agency’s Facebook page on Sunday.
This was made known in a statement signed by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, shared on the agency’s Facebook page on Sunday.
The NDLEA also conducted operations in Lagos, Edo, Delta, Bauchi, FCT, Kaduna, Gombe, and Kogi, which resulted in the arrest of a drug kingpin and the recovery of substantial amounts of cannabis and codeine.
The statement in part reads, “Crooked attempts by drug syndicates to export illicit substances, including various quantities of methamphetamine and opioids concealed in the hems of new jeans, trousers, dolls, buttons, local soap, and tins of milo beverage, to Europe, the United Arab Emirate, and Asia, have been thwarted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at some courier firms in Lagos.
“Some of the consignments intercepted by NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, DOGI, at courier houses in Lagos include: tramadol 225mg concealed in hems of new jeans trousers heading to Cyprus; a shipment of cannabis sativa hidden in heads of dolls going to Dubai, UAE; sachets of tramadol 225mg buried in tins of milo beverage going to the UAE; and another set of the same drug hidden in local soap also going to the UAE; as well as a consignment of methamphetamine concealed in buttons heading to Hong Kong.
“A shipment of another illicit substance coming from Florida, USA, was equally intercepted at a courier firm, while the recipient, Daniel Ogi, was tracked by NDLEA officers and arrested at 5 Akeem Shittu Street, Ajao Estate Lagos, on Friday, November 24, 2023.
“Operatives in Lagos on Friday, December 1st, also arrested a drug kingpin, Okechukwu Ogala, 56, who specializes in exploiting and recruiting young citizens to export meth to Asian countries.
“He was arrested at the Blue Moon Hotel in the Okota area of Lagos with 60 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.009 kilograms.”
