On September 17, while on patrol along the Okene-Abuja expressway, NDLEO agents stopped a J5 vehicle traveling from Onitsha to Kaduna-Zaria that contained 18 pump action rifles and 1,300 cartridges.
Chukwudi Aronu, 51, and Shuaibu Gambo, 23, the two suspects who were transporting the weapons and ammunition, were detained, but another suspect, Anthony Agada, 37, who was transporting 1,000 cartridges, was also apprehended on the same day in a bus traveling from Onitsha to Abuja.
Femi Babafemi, the spokeswoman for the anti-drug agency, stated in a statement on Sunday.
"Another vehicle traveling from Onitsha to Sokoto had 1,404 bottles of codeine syrup and 2,040 ampoules of pentazocine injection seized from it. Stanley Raymond, 39, and Shadrack Ifediora, 46, the sender and recipient, were both detained in subsequent operations in Sokoto and Anambra States, respectively.
"In Kaduna, a drug dealer named Mohammed Dalhatu, also known as Dawa, was detained with eight bags of cannabis sativa weighing 67 kg in Sabon Gari Zaria, and Maikudi Hassan was detained with five bags of cannabis weighing 54.2 kg at Gubuci Village of Ikara LGA. Additionally, on September 15th, agents detained Mary Ugwu and Hawwa Idi in Anchau Town, Kubau LGA, where they were found in possession of 6.8 kg of cocaine, 37,000 exol-5 pills, 721 ampoules of pentazocine injection, and nine ampoules of diazepam injection."
In Edo, the operatives recovered 285 kg cannabis in two raids at Okpuje, Owan West LGA, on Friday, September 16, while 972.5kg of the same substance was recovered from an electronic shop at Alaba Int’l market in Lagos, with one of the suspects, Mrs Ebere Aja, 38, arrested.
He noted that no less than 335.1kg of cannabis was seized in a raid at Kwanar Kundum area of Bauchi town, with two suspects, Usman Garba and Najib Ibrahim, arrested.
Babafemi also noted that the Chairman of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.) has directed the Kogi State Command of the anti-narcotics agency to immediately hand over the arms and ammunition seized to the police for further investigation.