The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested three blind men operating a drug trafficking ring between Lagos and Kano and also seized hard drugs with a street value of N13 billion in Lagos State, specifically in Amuwo Odofin and Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.

This was disclosed in a statement on Sunday by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

According to Babafemi, the drug busts were the result of intelligence-led operations targeting drug cartels in various locations, such as Amuwo Odofin, Surulere, and the Skyway Aviation Handling Company warehouse at the Lagos airport.

“NDLEA operatives have arrested three blind men operating an illicit drug ring between Lagos and Kano, while another blind member of the syndicate is still at large. The lid was blown off the group following the arrest of a blind suspect, Adamu Hassan, 40, along Gwagwalada expressway Abuja with 12kgs of skunk on his way from Lagos to Kano on Saturday 28th October. Investigations however established that he was oblivious to the contents of the bag handed to him to deliver in Kano.

“Follow-up operations then led to the arrest of the arrowhead of the syndicate, Bello Abubakar, 45, who is also blind. In his statement, Bello who is married with five children said he has been living in Lagos for 30 years but started the illicit drug business five years ago.

“Another suspect, Muktar Abubakar, 59, who is equally blind has been living in Lagos for 40 years and married to three wives with 14 children. Both Muktar Abubakar and Bello Abubakar are joint owners of the business, while the third suspect, Akilu Amadu, 25, also blind equally contributes money to the criminal trade and was indeed the one who delivered the consignment to Adamu at the motor park in Lagos to deliver in Kano. Another blind suspect who is the expected receiver of the consignment in Kano, Mallam Aminu is currently at large.”

“In a similar operation on Tuesday, 31st October, NDLEA operatives swooped on a secret warehouse operated by a billionaire Idumota trader, Nwaoha Anayo, located at Onitire, Aguda area of Surulere, where Twelve Million Seven Hundred Thousand (12,700,000) pills of tramadol were recovered,” Babafemi stated.

Furthermore, the NDLEA arrested six members of a syndicate involved in smuggling illicit drugs through the SAHCO warehouse at the Lagos airport.

A businessman, Nwokolo Ifeanyi Anthony, was apprehended at the Abuja International Airport while attempting to board a flight to the Netherlands with heroin concealed in his belly.

In addition to these operations, the NDLEA’s Directorate of Operations and General Investigation team seized 22 parcels of cocaine concealed in a carton containing sewn local fabrics, destined for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In separate operations, the NDLEA in Osun arrested a suspect, Monday Sylvester, on a cannabis farm, while their colleagues in Edo seized a substantial quantity of the illicit substance.

Furthermore, NDLEA officers in Ogun recovered a Toyota Sienna bus with a significant quantity of drugs inside. Another 116.5 kilograms of cannabis sativa were seized in Lagos.