• Seizes N22.7 billion worth of opioids at seaports
Felix Temitope, Abuja
DAILY COURIER – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in a major drug bust has arrested a Thailand returnee, Oguejiofor Nnaemeka Simonpeter, for smuggling 13.30 kilograms of heroin valued at over N3.1 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. The agency also intercepted large consignments of opioids worth N22.7 billion at Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa seaport, and the Port Harcourt Port Complex in Onne, Rivers State.
Oguejiofor, a 29-year-old graduate of Mechanical Engineering from Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra State, was apprehended on October 7, 2024, while attempting to smuggle heroin concealed in six backpacks packed inside two large suitcases. He had returned from Thailand via Qatar Airways, with a stopover in Doha. Oguejiofor initially routed his luggage to Accra, Ghana, but rerouted it to Lagos to evade security checks. However, NDLEA officers intercepted him, discovering the concealed heroin sewn into the six backpacks.
In his confession, Oguejiofor revealed that he was hired for $7,000 to deliver two parcels in Lagos and four in Accra, Ghana.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at the Lekki, Apapa, and Onne seaports seized massive shipments of tramadol and codeine-based syrup with a combined street value of over N22.7 billion. The tramadol haul consisted of 32.6 million pills worth N12.5 billion, while the codeine syrup totaled 1.45 million bottles, valued at N10.1 billion. The consignments were intercepted from containers flagged by the NDLEA and examined in coordination with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
In related operations, the NDLEA arrested a suspect, Okelue Chidera, 29, in Anambra State on October 12, 2024, with 50,000 tablets of tramadol 200mg at Upper Iweka, Onitsha. In Edo State, operatives raided a cannabis transit point in Owan West Local Government Area, recovering 70 bags of cannabis weighing 1,050kg. Another raid in Owan Village, Ovia North East LGA, led to the seizure of 110kg of cannabis and the arrest of suspect Monday Akele, 38.
The NDLEA also continued its *War Against Drug Abuse (WADA)* sensitization efforts in schools and communities across the country. Among the institutions visited were Sacred Heart Girls International Secondary School in Calabar, Methodist Girls High School in Akwa Ibom, Federal Government Girls Secondary School in Bida, and Model Secondary School in Abuja.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the efforts of the agency’s operatives at the MMIA, Lekki, Apapa, PHPC, Anambra, and Edo Commands. He praised their balanced approach in reducing drug supply and promoting drug demand reduction through advocacy and education.