PICTORIAL: NDLEA arrests Spain-bound businessman with cocaine in sandals, destroys cannabis farm

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 50-year-old businessman, Francis Akajiobi, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos for attempting to smuggle 1.2 kilogrammes of cocaine to Spain.

This was made known in a statement signed by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, and shared on the Agency’s website on Sunday.

According to the statement, the drugs were concealed in the soles of his sandals.

The statement said, “A Spain-based businessman, 50-year-old Francis Akajiobi, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the departure hall of Terminal 2 of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos, after parcels of cocaine weighing 1.2 kilograms were discovered in his pair of sandals while attempting to board his Royal Air Maroc flight to Madrid, Spain.

“The two parcels of cocaine were concealed in the soles of a pair of black sandals Akajiobi was wearing to board his flight when NDLEA operatives intercepted him on Thursday 25th July 2024. During his preliminary interview, he claimed the consignment was delivered to him at a bar in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and was to deliver it to his friend and neighbour in Spain for a fee of Five Thousand Euros (€5,000) upon successful delivery to the recipient.”

A suspect, Makinde Sodiq Lekan, was also arrested in relation to the seizure of 99 packages of Canadian Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain, which weighed 51.6 kg and arrived at the Lagos airport’s SAHCO Imports shed via a Turkish Airlines flight from Canada, with a layover in Istanbul, Turkey.

Operatives of a Special Operations Unit targeting opioid smuggling syndicates also arrested Chukwuemeka Obodozie, a kingpin, on Sunday, 21st July.

He was caught at Cele bus stop along the Oshodi-Apapa express road in Lagos with 100,000 tablets of tramadol 225 mg in two bags. The arrest followed five months of surveillance and occurred shortly after he arrived from Ghana via a transport company.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives destroyed a cannabis farm in Osun State, arresting 17 suspects and seizing 31,600 kilograms of cannabis.

The statement said, “No fewer than 17 suspects were arrested on Friday 26th July when NDLEA operatives raided the Owena forest in Oriade LGA, Osun State, where they destroyed 31,250 kilograms of cannabis on 12.5 hectares of farmland, while 84 kg of processed cannabis sativa was recovered along with a single-barrel Dane gun.

“Those arrested include Peter Osuya, 51; Zebron Ode, 46; Dogo Reuben Matthew, 35; Isaac Terna; Joseph David Lawrence, 27; Ugochukwu Victory, 24; Olamilekan Abolarin, 26; Dele Ayibo, 44; Ojo Moses, 21; Nini Ayila, 27; Msughve Clement, 23; Chuks Ogeneku, 40; Dada Aribo, 20; Uche Endurance, 30; Patrick Agba, 21; Osakwe Kennedy, 45; and Ojo Babatunde, 29.”

The agency also arrested a tramadol syndicate kingpin, Chukwuemeka Obodozie, in Lagos, and intercepted a supplier of bandits in Kaduna with 573 rounds of live ammunition.

In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives conducting a stop-and-search patrol on the Kaduna-Zaria highway intercepted Ubaida Aliyu, a 32-year-old woman, on Saturday, 27th July. She was found in possession of 573 rounds of 7.60 mm live ammunition, which she claimed she was delivering to bandits in Sokoto.

NDLEA operatives arrested Godwin Udochukwu, 35, in connection with the seizure of 25,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection on the Kaduna-Zaria highway.

Another suspect, Alkasim Mikailu, 35, was apprehended in Kano during a follow-up operation after the seizure of 37,880 ampoules of diazepam injection on the Abuja-Kaduna highway.

The statement added, “Two suspects, Abioye Adeniyi, 39, and Rafiu Lekan, 41, were arrested with 55 jumbo wraps of Ghana Loud by NDLEA operatives at Oloko along Badagry-Seme road, Lagos, on Friday 26th July, while Samson Ifeayi Egwutouhi, 30, was nabbed the same day by officers on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway with 20 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa that weighed 10.5 kg.

“In Bauchi State, two suspects, Suleiman Yahaya, 50, and Ibrahim Bello (a.k.a. Special), 35, were on Thursday 25th July arrested with 315 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 204.75 kg along the Maiduguri bye-pass, Bauchi town.”

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa commended the officers for their efforts and urged them to continue their fight against drug cartels.