A 67-year-old man, Chukwuemeka Clement, was apprehended by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. Shockingly, Clement had ingested 100 wraps of cocaine, claiming his venture into this criminal enterprise aimed to fund a fresh start after wasting 30 years of his life in Brazil, Ethiopia, and Thailand.
Clement’s arrest on Tuesday, October 3rd, upon arrival from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, revealed his stomach filled with 2.195 kilograms of cocaine. Despite the unusual choice, he explained that his motive was to raise funds for marriage and a new beginning, having lost his wife without children during his extensive travels.
Parallelly, on the same day, the NDLEA intercepted a 45-year-old woman, Bilkisu Mohammed Bello, at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano. She confessed to preparing for a flight to Saudi Arabia with cocaine pellets and led authorities to a stash in Farawa, Kano, where 52 wraps of the substance weighing 767 grams were discovered.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operations in James Town, Ogunmakin, led to the discovery and destruction of 10.38 tons of cannabis sativa over 4.152 hectares. In a subsequent interception, a truck carrying logs of wood contained two bags of cannabis sativa weighing 20 kg, resulting in the arrest of six suspects.
Further actions included raids on the Obi camp in Edo State, resulting in the evacuation of 30 sacks of skunk from a dilapidated mud house. In Igbanke forest, Orhiowon local government area, two cannabis farms measuring 1.179065 hectares were destroyed, and four suspects were arrested.
In Gombe state, a suspect, Auwal Bindow, was arrested with 50,000 capsules of tramadol, while in Oyo state, Anuoluwapo Blessing Iyanu, 32, was nabbed with 52 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa weighing 30 kg.
The NDLEA also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign nationwide, organizing sensitization lectures in schools across Osun, Benue, Oyo, and Anambra states. The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the efforts of the various commands, praising their commitment to both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities.
