NDLEA arrests officer, 6 others for dealing in cocaine

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested serving officer of a law enforcement agency for selling assorted illicit drugs to students of a federal university and cultists in Ogun state.

Its Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

Babafemi said that the drug dealer who served in the Lagos state Command of the security agency was arrested on Wednesday, June 15.

This, he said, was after days of surveillance on his wife’s shop used as his sales point in Camp area of Abeokuta.

According to Babafemi, One of his salesmen, a motorcycle rider was trailed to the location at about 8pm and arrested with six pinches of Colorado weighing 1.17grams.

“This was before the principal suspect, who has been on the Agency’s watch list, was nabbed with different illicit drugs.”

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He gave the breakdown of the substances as: codeine -17 bottles; Cannabis -22.26 grams; tramadol 230 tablets -98grams; 61 tablets of flunitrazepam -23.72grams; 113 tablets of molly -48.16grams and sex drops -43.92grams.

“After the arrest of the two suspects, some student union officials of the institution blocked the NDLEA team with their official vehicle.

“The narcotic agents, however, restrained themselves and after hours of standoff succeeded in moving the suspects to custody,” he said.

In the same vein, Babafemi said that another drug dealer was arrested by operatives of the Oyo state Command of the agency at General area, Ilorin, Kwara.

This, he said, followed the interception of a parcel containing cocaine and heroin that weighed 10.5grams and 4.8grams, respectively, on June 13.

“The following day, two ladies, aged 40 and 39, respectively, were arrested at total Garden, Ibadan when NDLEA operatives acting on a tip-off, intercepted their commercial micra car.

“The two women were arrested with seven bags of cannabis weighing 77.23kg brought in from Ogbese, Ondo State, to supply a man they simply identified as Alhaji.

“According to them, they had earlier supplied the same Alhaji two bags before coming with the seven bags they were caught with,” he said.

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Babafemi said that operatives of the Oyo state Command acting on intelligence also raided the residence of another Alhaji at Elebu area, Akala expressway, Oluyole LGA, Ibadan, on Friday, June 18.

He said that the operatives of the command,  however, recovered 43 ampoules of methylphenidate.

In another development, Babafemi said that a drug trafficker was arrested at Panteka area of Kaduna State on June 17, with 211.5kg of skunk, heading to Kano state.

Babafemi also said that a Nigerian returning from Pakistan was arrested by NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airpirt, (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos.

He said that the suspect was with five pellets of heroin weighing 250grams discovered in his anus.

He added that the suspect had arrived the ‘D’ arrival hall of the airport on June 14, on Turkish airline flight from Pakistan with the illicit drug inserted in his anus.

He, however, said that the suspect failed to beat the eagle eyes of narcotic officers during inward clearance of passengers on the flight.

Babafemi quoted the Chairman, NDLEA, retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, as commending the Ogun, Oyo, Kaduna and the MMIA Commands of the agency for sustaining the offensive action against illicit drug trafficking and the cartels running it.

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He warned that the NDLEA would not spare any law enforcement agent hiding under the privilege of his uniform to engage in narcotic criminal business.

“Those who think they can sabotage ongoing efforts to rid Nigeria of the menace of illicit drug trafficking and abuse hiding behind the façade of their uniforms should better think twice because they’ll have NDLEA to contend with.

“We’ll not only arrest and expose them but we’ll equally prosecute them and seize all assets acquired through the proceeds of their criminal act,” he warned. (NAN)