Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intensified their nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking, arresting a former Lagos councillor and uncovering drug consignments concealed in unusual ways, including inside baby diapers.
The agency also intercepted components suspected to be meant for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during separate operations across the country.
In one of the most notable arrests, NDLEA officers apprehended Sheleru Sadiq Olalekan, a former two-term councillor in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State, over alleged involvement in illicit drug activities.
Olalekan, 45, who represented the Orimedu community during his tenure and currently works as a legislative aide, was arrested on March 2 at his residence in Ilado, Ibeju-Lekki.
A search of the premises led to the discovery of 40 kilogrammes of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, hidden in one of the rooms.
According to the agency, the suspect admitted ownership of both the drugs and the property where they were recovered.
In another operation in Abuja, NDLEA operatives intercepted Emeka Okwor, 32, a businessman travelling from Obollo-Afor in Enugu State to Zuba in the Federal Capital Territory.
During a search of his luggage, officers discovered 1,000 pills of tapentadol 250mg concealed inside baby diapers.
The suspect reportedly confessed that he was transporting the drugs to Guduwa village in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State, where he operates a provision store.
On the same day, NDLEA patrol officers along the Kabba–Obajana highway in Kogi State intercepted a consignment of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 1.55 kilogrammes, concealed inside a carton containing a standing fan.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the drugs were traced to Mey Ali Muhamat, a 36-year-old Cameroonian national travelling in a commercial bus from Lagos to Cameroon through Lokoja, Kano and Maiduguri.
In a separate security-related development, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Mokwa–Jebba road in Niger State intercepted a commercial bus transporting 500 components suspected to be used for improvised explosive devices.
The items were hidden in a white sack and were reportedly meant to be delivered to a recipient in Pelegi community.
Babafemi said a follow-up operation led to the arrest of the alleged recipient, Osama Abdullahi, 21, in Mashegu Local Government Area of Niger State.
The agency also recorded additional drug seizures across the country.
In Yola, Adamawa State, NDLEA officers uncovered 122,000 tramadol pills and 700 grammes of methamphetamine concealed in a false compartment of a truck carrying 2,000 cartons of local drinks.
In Kano State, a 20-year-old suspect, Muhammed Ali, was arrested at Gadar Tamburawa with 11,283 tramadol pills.
Similarly, operatives in Ogun State raided a drug hideout in Ogere, arresting Nazifi Mudansir and Kabiru Musa with 46 kilogrammes of skunk.
In Delta State, two suspects — Joy Chukwuma, 25, and Eugene Felix, 22 — were apprehended in Ogwashi-Uku with 18.63 kilogrammes of skunk, 10.8 litres of codeine-based syrup, and 4,268 pills of tramadol and swinol.
NDLEA operatives also dismantled a cannabis cultivation site in Edo State, arresting Eke London, 48, and Austin Isusi, 49, at Egbisi forest in Uhumwonde Local Government Area.
The agency said 1,910.25 kilogrammes of skunk cultivated on two farms were destroyed during the operation.
Another suspect, Alaba Adeboye, 47, was arrested in Ikhin town, Owan East Local Government Area, with 176.5 kilogrammes of skunk.
Beyond enforcement activities, the NDLEA said it continued to expand its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across schools, religious centres and communities nationwide.
The awareness programmes included lectures delivered in several secondary schools across Oyo, Niger, Zamfara, Lagos, Sokoto, Ebonyi and Anambra states.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Maj. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd.), commended officers in the Lagos, FCT, Kano, Niger, Kogi, Edo, Ogun, Delta and Adamawa commands for the arrests and seizures.
He urged them to sustain the agency’s strategy of combining aggressive enforcement with public education to reduce drug abuse and trafficking across the country.
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
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