Kano: The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a 42-year-old Indian lady at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, with 72 parcels of heroin.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the prohibited substances were factory sealed in wafer wraps and packaged as chocolates, as stated by NDLEA's Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, in a statement released on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr. Babafemi revealed that the class A drug consignment, weighing a total of 11 kilograms, was recovered from her luggage following a thorough search. The operation was based on credible intelligence gathered during an inward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1431 from Bangkok, Thailand, via Vietnam and Doha, at the arrival hall of the Kano airport on Friday, March 14. He emphasized that the arrest highlights a growing trend of drug trafficking organizations hiring foreign nationals to transport illicit drugs through Nigerian borders, a strategy that vigilant NDLEA operatives have consistently thwarted using modern technological tools and proactive intelligence.
In a separate interdiction operation in Kano, NDLEA officers arrested a 45-year-old male suspect on Thursday, March 20, with a 50-litre steel gas cylinder at Gadar Tamburawa, along Zaria-Kano road. Based on credible intelligence, the cylinder was cut open using welding tools, revealing 50,000 pills of tramadol 225mg hidden inside. Additionally, a 40-year-old male was apprehended at Gunduwawa area of Kano on Wednesday, March 19, with 27kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis.
In another case, a female suspect was arrested with 424 bottles of codeine-based syrup at Lungun Bulala Yalwa area of the state on Tuesday. Two male suspects were also captured with 67.5kg of skunk in Mushin, Lagos state. Further, 100.8kg of the same psychoactive substance was seized from the store of two fleeing suspects in Anifowoshe area of Mushin. Another suspect was detained in Apapa with 4.5kg of skunk, 600 grams of tramadol 225mg, and 30 litres of codeine syrup on Tuesday. On the same day, a suspect in Ikotun area was arrested with various quantities of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
Across the country, NDLEA Commands and formations are intensifying their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy sensitization. The agency has been actively engaging in awareness campaigns in schools, markets, motor parts, workplaces, and worship centers throughout the past week. This initiative included WADA sensitization lectures at Chrisland School, Ikeja, Lagos; Hakimi Secondary School, Mokwa, Niger state; and Marist Comprehensive College, Nteje, Anambra state, among others.
Mr. Babafemi quoted NDLEA chairman, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, who commended the officers and men of MAKIA, Lagos, and Kano Commands of the agency for their arrests and seizures. Marwa expressed satisfaction with the balanced efforts in drug supply and demand reduction by all formations nationwide, urging them to maintain their vigilance.