The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has recorded fresh breakthroughs in its nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking and related crimes, uncovering illicit drugs concealed inside imported water purifier machines and intercepting military-grade ammunition during coordinated operations across several states.
The agency said operatives discovered consignments of hard drugs, including three kilogrammes of ketamine and 199 grammes of MDMA, popularly known as Ecstasy, hidden inside water purifier machines shipped from the Netherlands to Lagos.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the seizure was made during a routine inspection at a courier company in Lagos last Tuesday.
The agency noted that the discovery reflected the increasingly sophisticated tactics being adopted by international drug trafficking syndicates attempting to smuggle narcotics into Nigeria through unconventional channels.
In another operation in Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives arrested a couple identified as Musa Sunday and Mercy Sunday, alongside another suspect, Salomi Ezekiel, after recovering 100 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 1,246 kilogrammes.
The illicit drugs were reportedly found at the suspects’ residence in the Gonin Gora area of Kaduna on May 24.
The anti-narcotics agency also intercepted 380 rounds of military-grade 7.62mm ammunition along the Abuja-Kaduna highway near Jere.
NDLEA disclosed that the ammunition was recovered from a 30-year-old suspect, Sunusi Musa, who was allegedly transporting the consignment to Katsina State. The suspect and the recovered ammunition were subsequently handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation and prosecution.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence raided a warehouse in Gidan Kukah, Bosso Local Government Area, where 457 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered.
A suspect identified as Godwin Zakka was arrested in connection with the seizure.
Similarly, in Enugu State, operatives intercepted a commercial vehicle travelling from Onitsha to Taraba State along the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway.
A search conducted on the vehicle led to the recovery of 22,000 tramadol pills, 100 ampoules of pentazocine and 200 grammes of bromazepam. The driver, James Maigari Wisdom, was arrested.
Beyond enforcement operations, the NDLEA said it continued its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools and communities across different parts of the country.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Buba Marwa, commended officers of the Kaduna, Niger and Enugu Commands, as well as personnel of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, for their commitment to combating drug trafficking and promoting public awareness against substance abuse.
Marwa urged operatives across the country to sustain the momentum and intensify efforts aimed at dismantling drug trafficking networks threatening national security and public health.
