NDLEA intercepts N3.4bn drugs, arrests fake cop, mechanic

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a significant quantity of illicit drugs, including over 1.3 million pills of tramadol and other opioids, and approximately 6,000kg of cannabis, with a combined street value of more than N3.4 billion. Operatives also apprehended a fake police officer, Innocent Ekpe, and a mechanic involved in drug trafficking operations.

Ekpe, a 49-year-old man from Delta State, was arrested alongside his accomplice, Nduka Joseph, after his attempt to evade detection by impersonating a Deputy Superintendent of Police using a forged ID card. The duo was found with 292.48kg of skunk concealed in his Toyota Sienna bus along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided an auto-repair workshop in Benin City where they discovered 48kg of Canadian Loud cannabis and 152g of methamphetamine concealed within the establishment. The agency also arrested a mechanic, Matthew Ossai, aged 45, who was operating the workshop as a front for drug storage.

In Niger State, three suspects, Bashir Usman, Abubakar Nuhu, and Abdulrahman Abdulwahab, were apprehended near the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway with two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles, a magazine, a pistol, and ammunition. Similarly, in Lagos, 16 suspected robbers and cultists were arrested in a nationwide crackdown, with the NDLEA also seizing tramadol, codeine syrup, methamphetamine, and Exol tablets from 16 suspects.

The NDLEA has also been active in seizing large quantities of tramadol, methamphetamine, and cannabis across various states, including Delta, Anambra, Nasarawa, Imo, and Ondo. The agency continues to conduct intelligence-driven operations and calls for a balanced approach to drug control efforts nationwide.