Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Romans, and seized a significant amount of tramadol hidden inside mannequins he was transporting for his clothing business.
The arrest occurred on Friday, January 9, along the Oron–Ibaka Road in Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. NDLEA officers, while on patrol, stopped Romans, who was traveling with full-body mannequins reportedly destined for Cameroon. Upon searching the mannequins, officials discovered they were stuffed with tramadol pills weighing a total of 5.3 kilograms.
According to the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, Romans claimed to live in Cameroon and was returning there after the Christmas and New Year holidays. It was revealed that he purchased the drugs in Onitsha, Anambra State, with the intention of trafficking them to Cameroon concealed within the mannequins.
This arrest was part of a broader crackdown on drug trafficking by NDLEA, which has conducted several operations in various states over the past week.
In a related case, an 80-year-old ex-convict, Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta, was rearrested on Saturday, January 10, in Mmanta-Abak village, Abak Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, found in possession of 5.7 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis. Nkanta had previously been sentenced to two years in prison in 2022 for drug trafficking but had returned to illegal activities. NDLEA officers, acting on credible intelligence, tracked and apprehended him at his residence.
Further arrests took place in Ibadan, Oyo State, where NDLEA operatives detained several suspects and seized various illicit drugs, including Colorado, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud, Scottish Loud, and skunk cannabis strains. Among those arrested was 45-year-old Remi Bamidele, also known as “Aluko the Mafia,” from whom 10.696 kilograms of cannabis and two vehicles were confiscated.
In the Adegbayi area of Ibadan, officers arrested 27-year-old Adeola Toheeb with multiple quantities of Colorado, Ghana Loud, and skunk cannabis. Another suspect, 29-year-old Habeeb Ali, was caught at Ring Road with 1.264 kilograms of cannabis, along with cash amounting to over 1.3 million naira.
Additional seizures and arrests were reported in Edo, Niger, Taraba, and Adamawa states, where NDLEA operatives confiscated various quantities of cannabis and tramadol from different suspects, underscoring the agency’s continued commitment to combating drug trafficking nationwide.
