Felix Temitope, Abuja
DAILY COURIER - The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted illicit drug consignments from the United States, Qatar, and Madagascar while apprehending two drug kingpins attempting to smuggle heroin into Nigeria. The agency also made significant seizures of synthetic cannabis, tramadol, and other narcotics concealed in gas cylinders and courier parcels across multiple states.
One of the drug traffickers, Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus, also known as Kargbo Mohamed Foday, was arrested on February 2, 2025, at the Port Harcourt International Airport during inward clearance for a Qatar Airways flight from Doha via Abuja. The 30-year-old suspect, who holds both Nigerian and Sierra Leonean passports under different identities, was taken for a body scan that confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs. Under excretion observation, he expelled 62 wraps of heroin, weighing 1.348 kilograms. Investigations revealed that he had been trafficking drugs since 2017, using dual identities to facilitate movement between Thailand, Pakistan, Iran, and West African countries.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, arrested another trafficker, James Herbert Chinoso, on February 1, 2025, upon his arrival from Madagascar via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. After a body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, he was placed under observation and later excreted 63 wraps of heroin, totaling 909 grams. Chinoso reportedly turned to drug trafficking after his phone accessories business in Liberia collapsed.
Beyond the airport arrests, NDLEA operatives at a courier firm in Lagos intercepted two parcels containing 2.82 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, imported from the United States and destined for Lagos. On the same day, another interdiction operation at a separate logistics company in Lagos led to the seizure of 80 ampoules of pentazocine injection (weighing 225 grams) concealed in cartons and bound for Canada.
In Kano, operatives arrested Usaini Salisu and Yahaya Mu’azu, both 23 years old, on February 3, 2025, at Gadar Tamburawa along Zaria Road, where they were found in possession of 15,396 tramadol pills hidden inside a gas cylinder. In a separate operation, a 35-year-old female suspect, Chioma Okeke, was nabbed with 27 blocks of skunk, a type of cannabis weighing 15 kilograms, in the Sabon Gari area of Kano.
On February 8, 2025, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Kabba-Obajana highway in Kogi State intercepted a consignment of 12,800 tramadol 250mg pills destined for Shuwarin, Jigawa State, leading to the arrest of a suspect, Salisu Basiru, 33. On the same day and at the same checkpoint, another suspect, Rufai Hassan, 32, was caught with 65 parcels of Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 1.6 kilograms, also en route to Jigawa State.
In addition to its enforcement actions, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization programs in schools, religious centers, workplaces, and communities across the country. Awareness lectures were conducted at Saint Secondary School in Abakaliki, Taangayar Malam Abubakar Bichi Almajiri School in Kano, Federal Government Girls College in Calabar, College of Nursing and Science in Birnin Kebbi, and Meiran Community Junior Secondary School in Lagos, among others.
Commending the efforts of officers across multiple commands, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their balanced approach to both drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts. He acknowledged the dedication of the MMIA, PHIA, DOGI, Kano, and Kogi commands in disrupting drug networks and reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to curbing illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria.
These latest arrests and seizures highlight NDLEA’s relentless fight against drug smuggling and reinforce the agency’s commitment to protecting Nigeria from the dangers of illicit drug trade.
