NDLEA arrests wanted drug lord, dismantles synthetic cannabis lab in Lekki
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of a 40-year-old wanted drug lord, Yussuf Azeez.
In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA, said Yussuf was arrested by operatives of the agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, while on his way to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, a holy pilgrimage, after months of intelligence gathering and surveillance on him and his criminal drug activities.
Babafemi added that the drug kingpin, who was earlier arrested and charged with drug offences in the United Kingdom, had jumped bail and fled to Nigeria.
“Soon after settling down in Lagos, he set up a massive clandestine laboratory in the Lekki area of the state for the production of Colorado, a deadly synthetic cannabis and other illicit substances.”
He disclosed that Yussuf walked into the waiting hands of NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport while attempting to board his flight to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
Read also: NDLEA alerts Nigerians on fake medicinal cannabis, arrests kingpin
“He was swiftly driven to his 17 Vincent Eku street, Ogombo, Lekki, clandestine laboratory which has been under surveillance for a while.
“At the time of his arrest, Yussuf was found in company of another suspect, 43-year-old Abideen Kekere-Ekun.
“Inside the massive building, operatives from the Agency’s Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring were able to dismantle all installed laboratory equipment, precursor chemicals and already produced illicit substances including Colorado, all weighing 148.3 kilograms.”
At the Sifax bonded terminal in Okota, Lagos, NDLEA operatives in conjunction with men of Customs Service and other security agencies on Friday 7th November discovered 105.5kg Molly, a designers drug and 500grams of methamphetamine during a joint examination of a shipment.
The NDLEA disclosed that its operatives on Thursday, also intercepted Mohammed, 35, in a Volvo truck marked GRZ 872 XA along Kainji-Wawa road while conveying 87,000 pills of tramadol and 72kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis.
“Not less than 34,520 capsules of tramadol were found concealed in different compartments of a Toyota Corolla car marked GAN 102 AR intercepted along Zaki-Biam – Wukari road on Monday 3rd November while the driver Aliyu Samaila, 25, was arrested.
“The opioids were loaded from Onitsha, Anambra State, and heading to Cameroon,” he said.
In another operation in Taraba, NDLEA officers on Thursday arrested a suspect, Felix Tanko Chinedu, 28, with 15,020 capsules of tramadol at Kasuwabera ATC in Ardo Kola LGA.
In Kogi state, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene/Lokoja highway on Wednesday 5th November intercepted a consignment of 7.600kg Loud, a strong strain of cannabis. A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of the owner, Chukwunonso Anieze, 40, while no fewer than 175,000 pills of opioids were recovered from another consignment at the location same day.
The anti-narcotic agency said, “three suspects: Olayide Oyidiran, 39; Abdulsalam Abdulsalam, 28; and Opeyemi Tijjani, 39, were on Wednesday 5th November nabbed at Abuja/Kaduna tollgate with 769kg skunk being conveyed in a truck marked TRE 897 BE, coming from Lagos en route Owo, Ondo state and heading to Kano.
“A 73-year-old grandpa James Ugbedo was on Friday 7th November arrested in a cannabis plantation at Igbeshi forest, Imiakebo, Etsako East LGA, Edo state where 1,459.75kg skunk was destroyed and 5.6kg of same substance evacuated, while 70-year-old grandma Comfort Odudu was nabbed at Onopa, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state with 5kg skunk on Tuesday 4th November.
“With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.
“These include: WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of Transfiguration Seminary Secondary School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; Day Secondary School, Sabonkasuwa Kontagora, Niger state; Immanuel College High School (Snr), Ibadan, Oyo State; Government Girls Secondary School, Ilelah, Sokoto; Government Day Secondary School, Namtari, Adamawa and NURTW leaders and members in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi state, among others,” the statement added.
