A six-month pregnant lady, a mother of three children and three other women and a 42-year-old man are among 24 suspected drug traffickers and dealers arrested in major interdiction operations by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, last week.
The arrests led to the seizure of over 7,609 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs in eight states.
Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi said thousands of the concealed opioid pills were being taken to insurgents/terrorists enclave in Banki area of Borno State.
He said: “The bulk of the seizures was made in Nasarawa State, where NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence on February 4, intercepted a truck with number plate, Lagos JJJ 64 YC, conveying 367 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 4,037 kilograms from Akure, Ondo State to be delivered at Shabu area of Lafia, the state capital.
“Three suspects, Shuaibu Liman, 35; Monday Audu, 33, and Linus Samuel, 42, were arrested in connection with the seizure.
“The following day, February 5, operatives in Abuja, FCT arrested the duo of Jibrin Shuaibu, 23, and Prosper Innih, 17, with 169 bags and 80 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa weighing 1,961.5kgs concealed in a truck with number plate, Ogun WDE 557 XC.
“The truck was intercepted during a stop and search operation on Abaj-Abuja highway on their way from Uzeba to Dei-Dei, FCT.
“In another operation by NDLEA operatives in Abuja on February 6, a suspect, Abdulhameed Dauda, 27, was arrested with 89kgs of the same psychoactive substance loaded into his truck in Owo, Ondo state to be delivered at Gwagwalada in FCT.
“On the same day, operatives also intercepted another driver, Hassan Ade, 30, transporting 696.5kgs of the same substance loaded in Idoani, Ondo state to be delivered at Gwagwalada and Dei-Dei in FCT.
“A follow up operation led to the arrest of a mother of three children, Mrs. Joy Chukwuka, 42, linked with the consignment.
“In Ondo State, apart from the seizure of 633.5kgs of cannabis at Eleyere, Ogbese in Akure North LGA, NDLEA operatives also recovered 59 jumbo bags of same substance loaded in a truck marked GAD 287 XA heading to Northern part of the country.
“Detergents were sprayed on the cannabis bags ostensibly to suppress the odour of the psychoactive weed, while 192 packs of table water were loaded on top to conceal the illicit consignment.
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