Auto parts dealer, businesswoman arrested over UK-bound opioids, cocaine in custard

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has announced the arrest of an Ibadan, Oyo State-based businesswoman, Mrs Adewunmi Adebola Dorcas and an auto parts dealer, Arinze Ora over attempted to export consignments of opioids and cocaine to London, United Kingdom and Congo Brazzaville, respectively.

NDLEA said its officers at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Friday 6th September 2024, intercepted a cargo going to the United Kingdom.

It said 924 bottles of codeine-based syrup weighing 135.70kg and 5,250 tablets of Rohypnol were hidden in cartons of foodstuffs after a thorough search of the consignment by the agency.

This was announced by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA, Headquarters, Abuja, on Sunday.

Babafemi said the freight agent, Owojori Olanrewaju Sunday who presented the cargo for export was promptly arrested, adding that further investigation led to the arrest of another suspect, Adewunmi Akeem Temitope, who claimed that his mother, 58-year-old Mrs Adewunmi Adebola Dorcas sent the consignment to him from Ibadan to deliver to the agent.

According to the statement, a follow-up operation on Saturday 7th September led to the arrest of Mrs Adewunmi in Ibadan where she deals in foodstuffs and cargo export.

Babafemi said the agent, Owojori in his statement confessed that he has been working for Mrs Adewunmi to export cargo to the UK, adding that he was paid N2,411,000.00 for the job while he was paid N2.1million for a similar consignment handled for the businesswoman earlier.

The spokesman also announced that NDLEA in the same vein, at the same export shed of the Lagos airport on Wednesday 11th September, intercepted some cartons of auto spare parts and checkers powder custard going to Congo Brazzaville on Ethiopian Airlines.

He explained that a diligent search of the cargo led to the discovery of 300 grams of cocaine concealed in the containers of Checker Powder Custard packed with some auto parts.

Babafemi added that a follow-up operation led to the arrest of the sender of the consignment, Arinze Ora, who deals in auto parts at Shop 12, Block 7 Aspamda Trade Fair Auto Parts Wing, Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos.

Meanwhile, operatives of a Special Operations Unit of NDLEA on Tuesday 10th September arrested two brothers: Ikechukwu Ikeabba and Ugochukwu Ikeabba who are sponsors of drug traffickers who specialise in exporting drugs by ingestion to Vietnam.

According to the statement, their arrest followed a diligent investigation of an earlier arrest of an Onitsha, Anambra State based-businessman, Ibeanusi Solomon Nosike, who excreted 68 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.282 kilograms after 12 days of excretion observation after he was arrested at the local wing of the Lagos airport by NDLEA operatives.

The anti-narcotic agency disclosed that a 36-year-old Ibeanusi was arrested in the early hours of Thursday 8th August 2024 at the old domestic terminal of the Lagos airport while attempting to board the first flight out of Lagos to Abuja where he was scheduled to join a Qatar Airways flight to Vietnam at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja at about 10am the same day.

Similarly, NDLEA said another Vietnam-bound businessman, 54-year-old Paul Okwuy Mbadugha had been arrested by NDLEA operatives at the Abuja airport on Monday 12th August 2024 during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam via Doha after he tested positive to ingestion of cocaine.

Babafemi in the statement said Mbadugha ingested a total of 88 wraps of the illicit drug with a gross weight of 1.710 kilograms after four days under observation.

At the time of the arrest of the two kingpins, the Ikeabba brothers, they were caught with 87 wraps of cocaine dummies used in training intending swallowers.

Announcing other interceptions by the NDLEA, Babafemi said: “In Gombe State, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence on Saturday 14th September arrested three suspects: Auwal Abdullahi, Isah Rabiu and Abubakar Da’u along Bauchi-Gombe road while travelling in a DAF truck marked GME 552 ZU. A search of the vehicle led to the seizure of two million four hundred and ninety (2,490,000) pills of tramadol concealed with bags of salt.

“A suspect, Idris Adamu, 23, was arrested with 41.5 kilograms of cannabis sativa at Kachia town, Kaduna state on Tuesday 10th September while two suspects: Godiya Sekyen Jikuk, 36, and Yusuf Umaru,65, were nabbed at Isinbode -Ekiti, Ekiti state with a total of 73.6kg cannabis on Wednesday 11th September.

“In Bauchi State, no fewer than 208,920 pills of tramadol and diazepam were seized from a suspect, Chinedu Asadu, 35, on Thursday 13th September while 104kg of cannabis was recovered from two suspects: Abba Abdullahi and Mustapha Yahaya along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on Tuesday 10th September by operatives in Lagos state.

“Not less than 350,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup were discovered by NDLEA operatives in two containers shipped from India during a joint examination of the containers with men of Customs Service and other security agencies at the Tincan port in Lagos on Tuesday 10th September. The containers were part of those targeted by NDLEA for 100 percent examination.”

Reacting to the development, the NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the officers and men of the Special Operations Unit, MMIA, Tincan, Lagos, Gombe, Kaduna, Bauchi, and Ekiti Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures.

Marwa stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country are well appreciated. He urged them to continue to intensify ongoing drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.