ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a former drug convict and three cargo handlers over an alleged attempt to smuggle cocaine to the United Kingdom through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Those arrested include 37-year-old Nwobodo Chidiebere Basil, an ex-convict, and three cargo agents identified as Jubrin Firdausi Hassana, Kuku Daniel Oluwasegun and Igwe Chioma Jane.
According to the NDLEA, the arrests followed the interception of 75 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.50 kilograms, concealed inside sachets of liquid starch at the airport’s export shed in Ikeja.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement on Sunday that the three cargo agents were apprehended on December 20 during the initial operation, while further investigations led to the arrest of Nwobodo on December 21 at a relaxation centre in Ikeja.
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Babafemi described Nwobodo as a repeat offender, revealing that the suspect had previously been convicted for trafficking 30.10 kilograms of methamphetamine in 2023.
“A notorious drug trafficker, Nwobodo Basil, earlier convicted over 30.10kg of methamphetamine, has again been apprehended following this seizure. He was traced to a relaxation centre where he was spending time with his girlfriend,” the statement said.
NDLEA records show that Nwobodo was first arrested in May 2023 after methamphetamine hidden in powdered custard containers and bound for London was intercepted.
He was later arraigned before the Federal High Court, Lagos, in suit number FHC/L/337C/2023, convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment with an option of a N7 million fine and one month of community service, effective December 4, 2023. He reportedly paid the fine and resumed drug trafficking shortly after.
Beyond Lagos, the agency also recorded multiple arrests and seizures across several states.
In Gombe State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 65-year-old driver, Sada’u Mohammed, along the Gombe Biu highway while conveying 300 ampoules of pentazocine injections, 27,900 tramadol pills and other opioids en route to Biu, Borno State.
In Lagos, a 47-year-old businessman, Ignatius Egbochie, also known as “Brown,” was arrested in Apapa in connection with the seizure of 26 kilograms of “Loud,” a high-grade cannabis strain, earlier intercepted at the Tincan Island Port.
The cannabis consignment, comprising 56 parcels, was seized on December 10 during a joint inspection involving NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies. Follow-up intelligence led to Egbochie’s arrest on December 19.
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Meanwhile, between December 21 and 25, NDLEA operatives carried out coordinated operations across Ekiti, Edo, Cross River, Abuja, Lagos and Taraba states, destroying warehouses, seizing large quantities of cannabis and arresting several suspects.
In Ekiti State, operatives set fire to cannabis warehouses in Ara Forest, Ara-Ekiti, recovering 638 kilograms of skunk, while an additional 883.1 kilograms of compressed cannabis were recovered from three Toyota Camry vehicles intercepted along the Igara-Auchi road in Edo State on December 22.
Similarly, in Cross River State, raids conducted in Agoi-Ibami community, Yakurr Local Government Area, led to the arrest of three suspects and the seizure of over 900 kilograms of skunk cannabis.