A 40-year-old Madrid, Spain-based businessman Sherif Egbo has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, (NAIA), Abuja for drug trafficking.  

 Information available indicates that the suspect was arrested on October 14 while attempting to board an Air France flight to Paris, France, after the anti-narcotics agents discovered he ingested illicit drugs.

He was subsequently placed under observation at the agency’s exhibit recovery room where he excreted 93 pellets of heroin weighing 2.222 kilogrammes.

At the NAHCO imports shed of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, officials of the agency seized a consignment of 10 cartons containing 500,000 pills of tramadol 225mg branded as tapentadol on Monday, October 16.

The cargo which was shipped from India through Qatar Airways with airwaybill number MAWB 319-01227236 was purported to be a transit cargo to Monrovia, Liberia.

 However, the lid was blown open through partnership and real-time intelligence-sharing mechanisms between NDLEA and its Liberian counterpart.

In the same vein, NDLEA operatives foiled an attempt by an intending passenger, Ngene Chinecherem, to Muscat, Oman on Qatar Airways, to export 11.100kgs of skunk and 600 grams of tramadol concealed in foodstuffs at the Lagos airport.

In Imo State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a Mercedes Benz container truck marked ABN 418 YN parked in an isolated area along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway on Sunday, October 15. A search of the abandoned truck led to the recovery of 168 bags of skunk weighing 1,854 kilograms.

Not less than 1,381.3kgs of the same substance were seized in four interdiction operations in parts of Edo State including: Ekpon community, Igueben LGA; Iguiye forest in Ovia North East LGA; Iruekpen, Ndokwa West where a suspect, Monday Samuel Nwocha was arrested and Egwalor village in Onwude LGA where the duo of Obune Prince and Chika Obi was arrested and their Audi 80 salon car marked BEN 406 CL loaded with cannabis sativa, recovered.

In Kano State, an ex-convict, Aminu Suleiman, 46, was arrested along with Haruna Abdurrahaman, 41, and Ojo Joseph Esezobor, 34, at Gadar Tamburawa area of the state on Saturday 14th October while 106kgs of cannabis were recovered from them. Aminu was first arrested with 22kgs of cannabis on 3rd June 2022 and convicted by the court on 24th November 2022. Four other suspects: Inusa Fugu Ali, Yahaya Musa, Abba Audu, Ali Abubakar, and Bunu Kyari were also arrested at Gadar Tamburawa area of Kano on Monday 16th October for dealing in 75.3kgs of skunk.

In the same operation, operatives of the Zone J Command of the Agency seized 478kgs of cannabis in a forest in Ikere Ekiti on Friday 20th October, those of Ondo State Command recovered a total of 928kgs of the same substance in a bush by Shagari market, along Ifon-Owo express road, and Ibola camp, Ipele forest.

In Borno State, a suspect, Sani Mohammed, 31, was arrested on Saturday 21st October with 182kgs of cannabis at Njimtilo, along Maiduguri – Damaturu road.