The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted illegal drug shipments hidden in frozen snails, electrical bulbs, and female clothing bound for the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, revealed this in a statement on Sunday, adding that the seizures were made at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and a courier company in Lagos.
Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the crimes. One of them, Boladale Riliwan, a cargo agent, was caught on October 7 after 15 parcels of skunk were found concealed in 10 large rechargeable bulbs destined for the DRC.
A 48-year-old UK-based Public Health Assistant, Olawale Oyebola Hakeemot, was also arrested on October 12 at Terminal 2 of the airport with 2,300 pills of Tramadol 225mg hidden in frozen snails while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Manchester.
The NDLEA further said operatives stopped another attempt to export 810 pills of bromazepam disguised in women’s clothes through a courier company in Lagos on October 16.
In Adamawa, officers arrested Bello Buba at a checkpoint in Namtari, Yola South, with 38,270 pills of Tramadol hidden in his car. The suspect allegedly drove from Benin Republic to smuggle the drugs into Nigeria.
The agency also destroyed 53,250 kilograms of skunk found on 21.3 hectares of cannabis farmland in Ilawe Ekiti between October 12 and 13. Seventy bags of the drug weighing 1,140 kilograms were recovered, and three suspects — Matthew Emmanuel, James Moses, and Israel Samuel — were arrested.
A similar operation was carried out on October 12 in Akure, Ondo State, where 17,400 kilograms of skunk grown on 6.96 hectares of farmland were destroyed.
In Oyo, four suspects — Aliyu Muhammed, Babarinde Segun, Ogunbiyi Sanjo, and Ajani Oluro — were arrested with 596 kilograms of skunk at Apata-Ako, Igboora. Two others, Jacob Afolabi and Salako Oluwatobi, were caught with 273 kilograms of the same drug in Igangan.
In Ogun, Joseph Andrew was arrested with 88 kilograms of skunk at Ona-Imeko, while in Imo, Festus Udoh was caught with 13,000 opioid pills along Onitsha–Owerri Road.
The agency also recovered 74.5 kilograms of skunk from a store owned by Joseph Chukwujamaa in Enugu, while in Lagos, 117 kilograms of skunk were found at the base of a suspect named Ramoni Olukowi in Mushin.
During a joint operation with the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies at Apapa Port on October 14, NDLEA officers intercepted 80,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup from a container already placed on the agency’s watch list.
Babafemi added that the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse campaign across schools, workplaces, and communities, including schools in Ekiti, Rivers, Katsina, and Ogun states.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the operatives for their dedication and urged them to maintain their strong enforcement and public sensitisation efforts.
