NDLEA intercepts 1.7 million narcotics pills in noodles at Lagos, Gombe airports

Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agency has intercepted at least 1,760,460 pills of tramadol and opioids hidden in indomie noodles packs and others at the airport in Lagos and Gombe states.

The agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement issued on Sunday.

A female freight agent, Olaleye Adeola, has also been arrested in connection with the noodles consignment.

“While over 600,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg coming from Karachi, Pakistan in two separate shipments on Ethiopian Airlines flights were intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA at the SAHCO import shed of the Lagos airport on Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th December: 5,960 pills of Rohypnol concealed in 60 packs of indomie noodles going to Johannesburg, South Africa were also seized at the SAHCO export shed of the airport on Wednesday 14th December,” the statement reads.

Also, a trader at Balogun market in Lagos Island, Akunne Tochukwu, was arrested on Tuesday “over his attempt to export a Tramadol consignment to Dubai, UAE”.

“The consignment was seized at the Lagos airport by NDLEA operatives on 25th November while a market labourer, Oke Abosede Ronke whose services were requested to convey the drug for export had earlier been arrested.”

Mr Babafemi said the agency’s operatives in Lagos on 11 December intercepted a truck and a bus conveying “113 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 4,802.84 kilograms around the VGC estate area of Ajah while three suspects: Taofeek Yusuf; Ifeanyi Okorie and Israel Nwachukwu were arrested in connection with the seizures.

“In Gombe State, a total of 1,154,500 pills of Tramadol, Rohypnol and Exol being transported from Onitsha, Anambra State to Gombe by a truck driver, Umar Hassan, 28, were seized on Thursday 15th December at Bye pass area of Gombe by a team of NDLEA officers following credible intelligence.”

“Attempt by a drug dealer, Chucks Kalu, 29, to smuggle into Kano 26kgs of cannabis concealed inside packs of blenders was thwarted by operatives who intercepted the consignment along Abuja-Kaduna express road and later arrested him in a follow up operation in Kano, just as another suspect, Rabilu Sa’ad Abubakar, 42, was also arrested in a follow up operation in Kano, following the seizure of his consignment 1,980 bottles of Cough syrup with codeine, concealed inside cartons, were seized along Abuja-Kaduna express road.

In Delta State, the agency uncovered an “underground drug bunk” in a three-bedroom bungalow building owned by a suspect who is now on the run.

“17.6kgs of C/S were recovered from the bunk in addition to a 2003 Silver Golf car with registration number Lagos KJA 572 AZ used for the distribution of drugs within and outside Warri.”