Qatar-based businessman, others to spend New Year in custody over drug trafficking

Suspect

NDLEA intercepts Kebbi, Zamfara-bound drug consignment, arrests supplier

Barely hours to the new year, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a Qatar-based businessman, Agu Evidence Amobi, and one other, Uchegbu Onyebuchi Obi, with consignments of psychoactive substances at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos.

While Amobi was arrested on Saturday, December 30, at the departure point of Terminal 2 of the MMIA, on his way to Doha, on a Qatar Airways flight, Obi was taken into custody, same day, following the seizure of a consignment of 72,000 pills of tramadol 225mg, which he attempted shipping to Kano on a local flight.
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Spokesperson for the agency, Femi Baba Femi, who confirmed the development yesterday, said Amobi who claimed he’s been living and working in Doha for over 10 years, was caught with 1.30kg of cannabis sativa concealed in a bag of foodstuff.

He claimed he bought the substance in Enugu to deliver in Doha to enable him raise enough funds to pay his rents in Doha and Nigeria, and school fees of his three children.

Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the domestic wing of the airport intercepted
a carton containing 72,000 pills of tramadol 250mg with a gross weight of 38.50kg.

Michael

On Christmas day, in Yobe State, NDLEA officers on patrol, along Nguru-Gashua road, intercepted the trio of Musa Sani, Mohammed Ibrahim and Adamu Usman in a truck conveying 39 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 15.7kg, and 128,500 pills of opioids.

Follow up operations, the following day, December 26, led to the arrest of the actual owner of the cannabis consignment, Ali Ibrahim (a.k.a Ramos) in Geidam, where additional 208 blocks of the same substance were recovered from his house, bringing the total to 247 blocks weighing 94.74kg, while the owner of the seized opioids, Mustapha Goni (a.k.a Lolo) was equally arrested.

In Imo State, NDLEA operatives on Christmas eve, Sunday, December 24 while on patrol along Owerri-Onitsha expressway intercepted a commercial bus driven by Peter Orji, 42, with 400 bottles of codeine syrup; 7,590 pills of opioids, including tramadol 225mg heading to Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

While David Michael, 52, was arrested at the Unguwa Ukku area of Kano on Sunday December 24, with 49 blocks of cannabis weighing 42.6kg, Umar Abdullahi, 27, was nabbed with 27,350 pills of opioids at Gadar Tamburawa area of the city same day.
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This was even as 45-year-old Yusuf Yahaya was arrested the same Christmas eve along Lagos-Ilorin expressway with 31.00kg of compressed cannabis in a commercial bus coming from Ibadan, Oyo state, to Kebbi State.

Preliminary investigation revealed that he supplies illicit drugs to bandits in the Kebbi and Zamfara axis.

Meanwhile, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd) has commended efforts of the officers and men of MMIA, Yobe, Kano, Kwara and Imo Commands of the agency for jobs well done in the past week.

He tasked them and their compatriots nationwide not to rest on the achievements of 2023 but continue to raise the bar in their offensive against drug barons and cartels.
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