During a drug party hosted by Stanley Ikechukwu in FCT on Friday, NDLEA arrested at least 60 persons. “The suspects rounded up in the raid by the agency,” NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said in a statement released on Sunday, “were 25 men and 35 women, including at least six of them who were arrested with assorted drugs recovered from them at the scene.”
The statement partially read: “On Friday night in abuja On, NDLEA operatives raided a drug party tagged ‘Go hard or Go Home- Pick Your Poison’ arresting 60 suspects including 25 male and 35 females in an apartment in Sun City Estate. The operation was sequel to intelligence report that the drug party was orgnised by one Stanley Ikechukwu who was among the arrested persons. ”
“At least, six of the suspects: Victoria Adoga; Hamza Yari; Joanne Essein Joy; Sochima Valentine; Jago Imole; and Charles Ndubuisi were caught with various numbers of ecstasy and cannabis”.
Babafemi added that the chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), ordered the immediate release of 20 suspects who tested negative for drugs. Furthermore, 33 individuals who admitted to using prohibited substances were granted bail and required to present themselves for treatment and counseling at the FCT Command of the agency on Monday. Babafemi also revealed that operatives of the agency seized 6,125 cartons of codeine, valued at N7.3 billion.
The statement added, “The NDLEA has intercepted 6,125 cartons of codeine syrup containing 1,050,000 bottles of the opioid, worth over N7,350,000,000.00 in street value, at the Port Harcourt Ports complex, Onne, Rivers State.”
Babafemi said the seizure of substances from six containers on Saturday, June 29, 2024, marked the third time within a span of four weeks. This operation was conducted based on intelligence and tracking of the consignments from the point of origin by a Special Operation Unit of the NDLEA, in collaboration with the Port Harcourt Ports Command and other security organizations, including the Customs Service, executing an agreed 100% scan of the specific containers. In the final stage of the operation, the operatives recovered 6,125 cartons containing one million fifty thousand bottles of codeine syrup, weighing one hundred and fifty-seven thousand five hundred kilograms on Saturday.
The same Babafemi also noted that officers of the agency at the airport intercepted two passengers bound for Doha on a Qatar Airways flight at the screening point of Terminal II after they tested positive for ingesting substances on June 21. The suspects are Aikhomoun Daniel (alias Oladapo Olanrewaju) and Ayigoro Waheed Omobolaji, who were placed under observation custody. Daniel expelled a total of ninety wraps of cocaine, while Ayigoro expelled sixty wraps of the same substance categorized as Class A, weighing a total of 662 grams from five defecations. Additionally, Chibuzo expelled only 0.022 kg of the same substance in six defecations.
Investigations carried out to identify Santam’s loss-making customer revealed a man using a fake passport identifying as Daniel, claiming to be a German national but actually of Nigerian origin. He had stolen the identity of his late uncle, a German based in Germany, to obtain a Schengen visa, allowing him to travel freely across Europe. His real name is Oladapo Olanrewaju, but he became known under the alias “SKales.”
He added, “No less than 40.32kg of Loud, an imported strong strain of cannabis, was on Friday, June 28, recovered in a black Toyota Tacoma truck along the Lekki-Ikoyi Road when the driver jumped off the vehicle after noticing that the NDLEA operatives were on his trail.”
He also confirmed that in Edo State, four suspects were apprehended in a hideout deep in a forest where they were cultivating cannabis. He said the suspects were arrested in the thick forest of Ugun, Igueben LGA, Edo State on Saturday, June 29, during an operation by the NDLEA. The operatives raided and destroyed cannabis plants on 18,632 occasions, specifically on the 7th, 15th, 17th, 23rd, 28th, 30th, and 31st days.
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