By Kazeem Waris
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted consignments of Colorado, also known as Colos, concealed in music speakers and consolidated cargoes from the United Kingdom, as the agency seized more than 2.3 tonnes of assorted illicit drugs in operations across nine states.
The agency said the seizures also exposed different methods allegedly used by drug traffickers to conceal and distribute illicit substances, including hiding drugs in speakers and loaves of bread.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said operatves at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, intercepted a UK-bound consolidated cargo containing 27 parcels of Colorado weighing 32.20kg.
He said a real estate agent, Abideen Jide Salami, who allegedly appeared with a secret collection code relayed by his UK-based brother to collect the luggage, was arrested on September 9.
According to Babafemi, a follow-up operation involving another UK consignment led to the arrest of Nurudeen Abiodun Kadiri, 44, after operatives recovered 12.25kg of Colorado allegedly sent to him by his brother in the UK.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted a music speaker rigged with three packs of Colorado at Maza Maza motor park, Lagos, on its way to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and ultimately Liberia.
Babafemi said a tour agent, Ifeanyi Obed Augustine, 41, and the alleged owner of the consignment, Obasi Ugochukwu, 46, were arrested following a sting operation.
At Iddo motor park, another suspect, Ifeanyi Nwokolo Henry, was arrested while allegedly attempting to dispatch 2.1kg of Colorado to Kano.
In Delta State, separate operations in Ughelli and Asaba led to the recovery of pentazocine injections, codeine syrup, tramadol, diazepam, flunitrazepam and MDMA, with some of the substances concealed in music speakers. Two suspects, Emeka Oji and Chukwuebuka Anedi, were arrested.
In Kano, a raid at Sabon Gari resulted in the arrest of 20-year-old Saidu Adamu with 785,000 capsules of pregabalin weighing 669.425kg.
Also, a stop-and-search operation along the Zaria-Kano-Hadejia road led to the recovery of 1,700 tablets of diazepam concealed inside loaves of bread. A 28-year-old suspect, Habibu Sabitu, was arrested.
In Plateau State, 51-year-old Chinedu Uzor was arrested at Katako Market, Jos, with 157,100 capsules of tramadol.
The agency also sustained operations against illicit cannabis cultivation. Babafemi said 4,832.56kg of skunk was destroyed at cannabis farms in Usen, Igwe-Oke and Ogboha forests in Edo State, where 39-year-old Sunday Segun was arrested.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives recovered 186kg of skunk concealed in the boot of a Toyota Avalon car along Oke-Iya, Ijoka Road, Akure. The suspect, 58-year-old Paul Ogbuwala, was allegedly preparing to move the consignment to Jos for onward distribution.
In Kaduna, a female suspect, Hannah Michael, was arrested at Gonin Gora with 369.6kg of cannabis, while four suspects, including 70-year-old Godwoman Gboriye, were arrested at Ovom, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, with 110 bags of cannabis weighing 876kg.
The agency said its War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitisation campaign also continued during the week in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain pressure on drug trafficking networks.
Marwa charged personnel to maintain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control and shut every pipeline being used by drug cartels, whether through airports, seaports, land borders or illicit cannabis farms in the hinterland.
