NDLEA arrests two ‘drug kingpins’ in Lagos, intercepts ‘terrorists’ suppliers’ in Borno

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Victor Nwosa and Felix Chika Obiegbu, two suspected drug kingpins, after consignments of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine were recovered from their Lagos homes.

The agency said the arrests followed weeks of surveillance by its special operations unit.

In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said that operatives raided the residences of the suspects while they were preparing the drugs for export to Europe.

He said Nwosa, 64, who presents himself as a textile merchant, was apprehended on September 17 at his Okota home, where 4.33kg of heroin and 448g of cocaine were seized.

Obiegbu, 49, known as a wine distributor, was picked up on September 11 at his Surulere residence with 2.9kg of methamphetamine.

“At the time they were preparing their consignments for export, NDLEA-SOU operatives who had for months put them under surveillance, swooped on them in different parts of  Lagos,” Babafemi said.

“Obiegbu was arrested on Thursday, 11th September at his 5 Shada Shonefun street, Aguda Surulere home, where in the course of a search, 2.902 kilograms of methamphetamine were uncovered and seized.”

In the north-east, Babafemi said NDLEA also intercepted suspected suppliers of illicit drugs to terrorists and bandits in Borno and Yobe states.

He said one of them, 26-year-old Baba Kaka Ibrahim, was arrested on September 27 in Njimtilo village, Borno, while driving a Mercedes-Benz GLK. A search of the car’s engine compartment yielded 39,380 pills of tramadol and exol-5.

“Same day in Yobe state, NDLEA operatives intercepted a lady, Halima Adamu, along Damaturu-Maiduguri road, where 39 parcels of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 1.4kg, were found concealed inside the casing of her travelling bag,” the statement added.

“A swift follow-up operation led to the arrest of another lady linked to the consignment, Habiba Muhammad, at her Baga road, Maiduguri home.”

OTHER ARRESTS 

Babafemi said NDLEA operatives made several arrests and seizures across other states, including Kano, Ekiti, and Kaduna.

In Kano, two men were arrested with 30,030 tramadol pills, while in Bayelsa, three suspects were taken into custody at Swali jetty in Yenagoa after 12 kilograms of cannabis and 50 cartridges were found on them.

In Ekiti, a 45-year-old ex-convict identified as Femi Owoeye, also known as “Do Good”, was arrested at his home in Ikere-Ekiti with 32 kilograms of cannabis and tramadol. He had previously served a three-year prison term for a similar offence.

In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives stopped a suspect at the Abuja-Kaduna tollgate and recovered 404 blocks of cannabis weighing 262.6 kilograms from his vehicle.

Babafemi said another suspect was also caught in the state with 506 grams of methamphetamine, leading to a follow-up arrest in Gombe, where the intended receiver of the consignment was found.

In Lagos, three men were caught with more than 85,000 opioid pills, while in Abuja, operatives apprehended a suspect with 2.1 kilograms of colorado along the Abaji-Gwagwalada expressway.

In Edo, NDLEA operatives destroyed over 24,000kg of cannabis cultivated in Uromi and Ogu forests, while a truck loaded with 1,025kg of the drug concealed in charcoal bags was intercepted in Etsako West LGA.

Babafemi quoted Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, as commending the officers involved in the operations.

“The success of the various operations across the country underscores our commitment to safeguarding Nigeria from illicit substances that threaten public health and national security,” Marwa said.

“Every gram of these dangerous drugs we seize and remove from our streets and communities reinforces our determination to protect our youths, disrupt criminal networks, and strengthen national security.”