Law enforcement agent, six others arrested over trading in illicit drugs

… NDLEA uncovers heroin in Pakistan-returnee’s anus at Lagos airport

Etim Effiong

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has apprehended a serving officer of a law enforcement agency, Popoola Abayomi for selling assorted illicit drugs to students at a federal university and cultists in Ogun State.

The drug dealer who serves in the Lagos State Command of the security agency was arrested on Wednesday June 15, 2021 after days of surveillance on his wife’s shop used as his sales point in Camp area of Abeokuta.

One of his salesmen, a motorcyclist known as Ogah was trailed to the location around 8 pm and arrested with six pinches of Colorado weighing 1.17 grams before Popoola, who has been on the agency’s watch list was nabbed with different illicit drugs including codeine -17 bottles; cannabis -22.26 grams; tramadol 230 -98 grams; 61 tablets of flunitrazepam -23.72 grams; 113 tablets of molly -48.16 grams and sex drops -43.92 grams.

A statement issued by the agency’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, June 20, 2021, noted that after the arrest of the two suspects, some student union officials of the institution blocked the NDLEA team with their official vehicle.

The statement added that the narcotic agents, however, restrained themselves and after hours of standoff succeeded in moving the suspects to custody.

“In the same vein, one Adelodun Kamaldeen has been arrested by operatives of the Oyo State Command of the agency at General Area, Ilorin, Kwara State following the interception of a parcel containing cocaine and heroin that weighed 10.5 grams and 4.8 grams, respectively on June 13.

“The following day, two ladies; Mary Peter, 40 and Mercy Oladele, 39, were arrested at Total Garden, Ibadan when NDLEA operatives acting on a tip-off, intercepted their commercial micra car.

“The two women were arrested with seven bags of cannabis weighing 77.23 kg brought in from Ogbese, Ondo State, to supply a man they simply identified as Alhaji,” the statement noted.

According to the women, they had earlier supplied the same Alhaji two bags before coming with the seven bags they were caught with.

The statement added: “On Friday June 18, operatives of the Oyo State Command acting on intelligence also raided the residence of one Alhaji Faruq at Elebu area, Akala expressway, Oluyole LGA, Ibadan, where they recovered 43 ampoules of methylphenidate.

“In Kaduna State, a drug trafficker, Segun Abraham was arrested at Panteka area of the state on June 17 with 211.500 kg of skunk heading to Kano State.”

Meanwhile, a Nigerian returning from Pakistan, Ezenyeche Kingsley Ebuka was also arrested by the NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos with five pellets of heroin weighing 250 grams discovered in his anus.

Babafemi in the statement added that the suspect had arrived the ‘D’ arrival hall of the airport on June 14 on Turkish airline flight from Pakistan with the illicit drug inserted in his anus.

He explained that the suspect, however, failed to beat the eagle eyes of narcotic officers during inward clearance of passengers on the flight.

While commending the Ogun, Oyo, Kaduna and the MMIA Commands of the agency for sustaining the offensive action against illicit drug trafficking and the cartels running it, Gen. Marwa warned that the NDLEA will not spare any law enforcement agent hiding under the privilege of his uniform to engage in narcotic criminal business.

“Those who think they can sabotage ongoing efforts to rid Nigeria of the menace of illicit drug trafficking and abuse hiding behind the façade of their uniforms should better think twice because they’ll have NDLEA to contend with.

“We’ll not only arrest and expose them but we’ll equally prosecute them and seize all assets acquired through the proceeds of their criminal act,” he warned.