The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted cocaine concealed in female lipsticks and property documents, disrupting drug smuggling attempts to the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia.
Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, confirmed in a statement that NDLEA operatives recovered 420 grams of cocaine ingeniously packaged inside 84 pieces of female lipsticks heading to the UK.
Similarly, another 280 grams of cocaine were discovered hidden within a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) destined for Saudi Arabia.
The seizures were made at a courier company in Lagos by NDLEA officers attached to the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI).
In a separate operation, a notorious drug kingpin, Ajetsibo Emami, popularly known as ‘Warri Kinsman’ and said to be related to Ayiri Emami, was arrested on June 28 during a three-day raid in Ikeja, Lagos. His syndicate was dismantled with 681 pouches of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing over 414 kilograms recovered.
The agency also arrested a businessman, Ajah Johnson Uchenna, his wife, Rosemary, their daughters, and a family friend, who were operating a major drug distribution network from Lagos. NDLEA operatives, acting on fresh intelligence, stormed their residence and a storage facility, recovering over 231 kilograms of cannabis.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, officers intercepted a frequent traveller, Aburemi Hysent, attempting to smuggle 7,660 pills of tramadol to Italy, hidden inside food items. Another bust at the airport uncovered counterfeit travellers’ cheques worth over 17 million Australian dollars hidden in children’s books destined for Malaysia, leading to the arrest of a freight agent, Bolarinwa Saheed.
Further raids across the country led to multiple arrests and the seizure of large quantities of opioids, cannabis, and other illegal drugs in Osun, Kogi, Borno, Cross River, Taraba, Edo, and along major transport routes.
Reacting, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers for their efforts, describing the busts as another breakthrough in the fight against drug trafficking.
He assured Nigerians that the agency would intensify its efforts to clamp down on criminal drug networks operating within and outside the country.
