NDLEA Intercepts Qatar-Bound Drugs Concealed In African Salad, Dried Vegetables

NDLEA has intercepted Qatar-bound drugs concealed in African salad and dried vegetables.

Glamtush reports that operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have detained a 35-year-old lady, Chidinma Chinenye-Agbazue, after she was caught attempting to export 20 parcels of Cannabis Sativa weighing 10.70kg to Doha, Qatar through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos State.

This online news platform learnt that the illicit drugs were said to have been concealed in African salad popularly called Abacha; and dried vegetables.

The operation was carried out in conjunction with operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

The anti-narcotics operatives also reportedly rejected a N5m bribe from another suspect in Lagos State.

The spokesperson for the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, revealed the development in a statement on Sunday while detailing arrests and recoveries made by the agency over the past week.

Babafemi said, “Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have detained a 35-year-old lady, Chidinma Chinenye-Agbazue after she was caught attempting to export 20 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 10.70kg concealed in African salad popularly called Abacha and dried vegetables to Doha, Qatar through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos state.

“NDLEA officers at the Lagos airport working in partnership with men of the Department of State Services had on Thursday, March 28 intercepted Chidinma, an outbound passenger from Lagos to Doha, on Qatar Airways during clearance of passengers at the screening point of Terminal 11 of the MMIA.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that Chidinma was based in Qatar but returned to Nigeria last December for Christmas celebration. She said preparatory to her return to Doha, she was lodged at Club Dice Hotel in Ikotun area of Lagos where the consignment was handed over to her for trafficking to the Arab country,”

Babafemi further noted that two suspects, Monday Okeke and Chigozie Emeka, were on Tuesday, March 26, arrested by NDLEA operatives in Oniwaya, Yaba and Agege area of Lagos, where they recovered from them 842,560 pills of opioids especially tramadol in addition to 15 litres of codeine syrup and 596 grams of Molly.

He said, “Two suspects; Monday Okeke and Chigozie Emeka were on Tuesday, March 26, arrested by NDLEA operatives in Oniwaya, Yaba and Agege area of Lagos, where they recovered from them 842,560 pills of opioids especially tramadol in addition to 15 litres of codeine syrup and 596 grams of Molly.

“Attempt by Okeke to bribe the NDLEA officers with N5m cash was rebuffed while the money was documented as part of exhibits to prosecute the suspects in court.”

In Bayelsa, the bid by three suspects: Ebuka Eze, 31; Ugochukwu Okoro, 44; and Kingsley Uzim, 27, to smuggle opioids including codeine, molly, tramadol and diazepam weighing a total of 73.425kg to the creeks in Southern Ijaw area of the state was thwarted on Wednesday by NDLEA operatives at Swali jetty, Yenagoa where Eze and Okoro were arrested while Uzim was nabbed at Amasoma in a follow-up operation. The drugs were concealed in jumbo sacks and conveyed to the jetty in a tricycle.

Meanwhile, two suspects: Eniola Muyideen and Bankole Shuaib were arrested with 137 blocks of cannabis weighing 71kg during a raid at Orile Imo, Ogun State on Friday.

NDLEA operatives in Taraba recovered 39,980 pills of tramadol from a suspect, Abubakar Mohammed, 33, in Lankaviri village, and another suspect, Apaji Vincent, 29, arrested in Wukari on Thursday with 131kg cannabis sativa.