The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker loaded with 2,145kg of cannabis along the Akoko-Lokoja Expressway in Ondo State.
The tanker was intercepted on Friday during an operation, according to the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed the seizure in a statement on Sunday covering the agency’s operations across the country.
Babafemi said the tanker, which was carrying legitimate fuel cargo destined for Jos, Plateau State, had a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis.
He said the driver abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush.
“A search of the tanker revealed a false compartment concealing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg alongside its legitimate fuel cargo destined for Jos, Plateau State,” Babafemi said.
The NDLEA described the discovery as one of the most brazen seizures recorded during the week.
In Lagos, operatives also arrested a 34-year-old man, Dunu Ebubechukwu, over an alleged attempt to export 1.2kg of cocaine concealed in phone chargers to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Babafemi said Ebubechukwu was arrested at the Trade Fair Market, Ojo, Lagos, on Friday while posing as a herbal tea businessman.
He said the suspect had admitted to masterminding previous illicit drug shipments and discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.
Babafemi said Ebubechukwu was previously arrested by the NDLEA in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin in an attempt to travel to Austria.
He said the suspect was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison before later changing his name.
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives also recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg valued at over N1.1bn.
The tablets were concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.
The agency also recovered 57.80kg of loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a reported street value of over N173m.
The NDLEA said the consignments were concealed inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore.
The shipment had reportedly remained unclaimed for weeks before a joint examination involving NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies on Thursday.
More arrests, seizures
At the Tincan Port in Lagos, three suspects — Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji — were arrested following the seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-laced cookies.
Another 598.08kg, comprising 890 packets of similarly infused cookies and gummies, was intercepted in a 40-foot container at the port.
In another operation in Lagos, the agency recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grammes of cocaine, over 100kg of assorted Tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of Rohypnol at Gbaji.
Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were also arrested with 720kg of cannabis at Agbara.
In Kogi State, three suspects — Saidu Mustapha, 35; Zaharadeen Salisu, 29; and AbdulSalam Abdullahi, 25 — were arrested with 636kg of cannabis concealed in chicken manure.
The suspects were travelling by bus from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos, Plateau State, along the Okene-Lokoja Highway.
In Adamawa State, operatives recovered 864,000 Tramadol pills from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, identified as Patrick KC Frank, in Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area.
Babafemi said Frank’s car rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle before he escaped.
In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along Zaki-Biam Road, Wukari Local Government Area, with over 109kg of assorted controlled medicines.
The substances included Tramadol, Diazepam, Pentazocine, Phenobarbital, Exol-5, Nitrazepam, Bromazepam and Pregabalin.
The agency said the drugs were being conveyed from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.
In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck loaded with cement bags along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179kg of skunk.
A suspect, Hamza Dahiru, 25, was also arrested in Bauchi following a follow-up operation linked to the seizure of 322.5kg of cannabis at Deba town, Gombe State.
In Ekiti State, operatives uncovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest.
Two suspects, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested, while 117kg of already-harvested cannabis was recovered.
In Enugu State, the agency arrested 20-year-old Obinna David at Ugbema Junction on Saturday with 40,590 capsules of Tramadol.
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