Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted various quantities of ephedrine, skunk, and nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, concealed in Semovita packs and dried pepper being shipped to South Africa and Kenya through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
They promptly arrested members of Transnational Drug Trafficking Organisations (DTO), raided their mansions, and seized their luxury vehicles.
Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, who disclosed this in a release, said the operatives intercepted the suspect distributing Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine, and Ephedrine between Nigeria, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Mozambique, and Europe.
“He was arrested while attempting to board a Rwandair flight to South Africa with two boxes loaded with ephedrine sealed in semovita packs. The recovered substance is a precursor chemical and active ingredient in the production of methamphetamine, Babafemi explained.”
In his statement, Suleiman who holds a South African passport, is married to a South African lady and has lived there for over 20 years, identified Hakeem Babatunde Salami who equally lives in Lagos and South Africa as the head of the drug ring.
It was gathered that a follow-up raid in the house of Salami located at 75 Wosilatu Dawodu Street, Ijesha, Aguda area of Surulere, Lagos on Monday 28th August revealed that he had fled the country on the same day Suleiman was arrested. However, a white Toyota Venza car with registration number LSR 410 HT, a Mercedes Benz SUV marked LSD 998HP, phones, and vital documents needed for further investigation were recovered from the house.
The agency explained that in August 2021, it had seized 25.60kg ephedrine from a trafficker, Arua Emmanuel Onwuka at the Lagos airport, a seizure that has also been traced to the same cartel whose identified members are currently on the run. An official of the airport, Godwin Shedrack (a.k.a Goddy) fingered as a member of the syndicate is also under investigation.
In the same vein, an attempt by another syndicate to export 10.40kg skunk concealed with scent leaf and pepper, going to Nairobi, Kenya, was equally thwarted by NDLEA operatives attached to the NAHCO export shed of the airport on Saturday 26th August. A suspect, Ekechukwu Sixtus Ndubuisi, has already been arrested in connection with the seizure.
Another bid to export a consignment of 180 canisters of laughing gas to South Africa by a freight agent, Oyekola Gbenga Akeem for a fee of Two Million Naira (N2, 000, 000) was also frustrated by operatives who seized the cargo and arrested the suspect.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives on Friday 25th August succeeded in arresting a drug kingpin, Ngene Emmanuel Onyedikachi, who recruited the fake couple, Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi and Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum arrested for ingesting 1.822kg and 1.50kg of Cocaine respectively at the Lagos airport on 1st August while on their way to India.
The kingpin was picked up at his residence located at 28 Afolabi Brown Street, Akoka, Yaba, after an intensive surveillance that lasted 25 days, the agency said.
During his interview, Onyedikachi was said to have confessed that the two suspects: Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi and Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum were introduced to him by another member of his syndicate, whom he claimed he met at Zion Church in Cele area of Lagos.
He explained that the drug was sourced from Guinea Conakry.