The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has seized a total of 8,268.23 kilograms of illicit drugs, including cocaine, heroin, tramadol, methamphetamine and skunk, in weeklong coordinated raids across seven states.

The seizures were made in Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Enugu, Bauchi, Edo and Anambra states and 15 suspected drug dealers, including a woman on a wheelchair, were arrested during the operations.

A statement on Sunday by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said the crackdown began on Sunday, August 1, and lasted till Saturday, August 7, 2021.

He said, “The raids, aimed at mopping up illicit drugs in the affected states, followed intelligence and as part of the ongoing offensive action ordered by the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), against all drug cartels across the country.

“The bulk of the seized drugs were recovered from Ondo and Edo states. In Akure, the Ondo State capital, 27-year-old Omokayode Adedayo was on Friday, August 6, arrested along the Oda Road, in the Akure South Local Government Area, with a cocktail of illicit substances, including cannabis sativa, cocaine, methamphetamine, tramadol, swinol and designer drugs.

“The previous day, men of the Nigerian Army intercepted 1,025kg of cannabis in a Toyota Sequoia SUV with number plate FST 169 BW and a Toyota Sienna with number plate APP 918 FA at a checkpoint in Isua Akoko, where two fake police officers, Stephen Sunday and Eze Ezenwa, were also arrested with 575kg of cannabis being conveyed in a Sienna vehicle with a fake police number plate, NPF 1651D.”

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Babafemi stated that the suspects and exhibits were handed over to the Ondo State command of the agency along with a cash exhibit of N148,300.

The statement added, “This was preceded by a raid carried out by operatives of the Ondo State command at Egbeta community, a border town between Ondo and Edo states, where a total of 6,332 kilograms of cannabis sativa were recovered and two suspects, Emeka Ossai and Raphael Henry, were arrested.

“In Akwa Ibom State, raids on parts of the state led to the recovery of 64.903kg of illicit drugs, including 1.2031kg of crack cocaine from 26-year-old Nwoye Ogbonna Solomon, the biggest cocaine seizure in the history of the state.

“In Adamawa State, a drug dealer, Ikechukwu Onuh, was arrested at Jimeta, Yola, on Thursday, August 5, with 14.4kg of tramadol packaged as diclofenac to evade detection.

“In Enugu, a total of 19.08kg of cocaine and skunk was recovered from three suspects, including a 35-year-old physically challenged man, Iyiogwe Chinenye, and 25-year-old Aja Chidi David.

“Different quantities of cocaine and heroin were also seized from an 18-year-old drug dealer, Jude Chinedu, during raids on the Inland Town area of Onitsha, Anambra State.

“While 59.3 kilograms of a psychotropic substance, pentazocine, was intercepted in a bus from Jos, Plateau State to Bauchi with the courier arrested, over 148.808kg of different variants of skunk, some of which were meant for students of the Igbinedion University, Okada, and the Edo State Polytechnic, Usen, were recovered from two dealers, Sunday Ojodale Oguche, 21, and Endurance Ehigie, 23, on Wednesday August 4.”

Meanwhile, different quantities of tramadol, methamphetamine and skunk going to the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates were intercepted in two courier firms in Lagos by narcotic officers of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation, NDLEA.    ,,