Foreigners arrested as 1,960kg of cannabis intercepted in Lagos
Abdullateef Fowewe
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency intercepted two boats loaded with 1,960 kilograms of cannabis, well known as “Ghanaian Loud,” at Eleko Beach in Lekki, Lagos, on Christmas Eve.
Six foreign nationals, who had brought the consignments from Ghana, were arrested during a midnight operation on Christmas Eve, as said in a statement on Sunday, by the NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi said the suspects include two Ghanaians, Godsway John (38) and Freedom Kelvin (33), and four Beninese: Chegoun Hounsou (23), Gadabor Nyameto (47), Adantg Sasa (34), and Ayao Kayivi (21), adding that the cannabis consignments had been smuggled into Nigeria from Ghana via the waterways.
He wrote, “Operatives of the Marine Command of NDLEA at 2:30am on Christmas Eve, Tuesday 24th December, intercepted two boats loaded with 1,960 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, at Eleko Beach in the Lekki area of Lagos.
“Six foreign nationals, who had brought the consignments from Ghana, were arrested during the operation.
“They include two Ghanaians, Godsway John, 38; and Freedom Kelvin, 33; as well as four Beninese: Chegoun Hounsou, 23; Gadabor Nyameto, 47; Adantg Sasa, 34; and Ayao Kayivi, 21.”
However, in a separate operation, Babafemi said a 48-year-old businessman, Orizu Arthur, was arrested at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, while attempting to board an Air France flight to Paris on Sunday, 22nd December.
He said Orizu was flagged during passenger clearance when he refused to undergo a body scan, citing medical reasons.
“He was subsequently taken into custody for excretion observation, during which he excreted a total of 74 wraps of Class A drugs over a period of seven days.
“In his statement, Orizu claimed to own a shop at Balogun Market, Lagos Island, where he sells school and travel bags. He added that he was promised 3,000 Euros upon successful delivery of the consignment in Paris.
“He had travelled from Lagos to the Abuja airport to connect to his Air France flight to Paris, hoping to escape detection,” he added.
Meanwhile, in Katsina, the spokesperson stated that two suspects were arrested in separate operations for possession of compressed cannabis sativa.
He said, “A suspect, Ibrahim Shaibu, 35, was arrested in possession of 40 album-size parcels of compressed cannabis sativa, weighing 35kg, on Christmas Day, 25th December, at Central Motor Park, Katsina. Another suspect, Umar Ahmed, 47, was nabbed along the Zaria-Malumfashi road, Katsina, with 27 parcels of the same psychoactive substance, weighing 13.5kg, on Saturday, 28th December.”
Babafemi further said a raid in Benin City, Edo State, on 23rd December led to the arrest of a 21-year-old suspect, Kosisochukwu Ozigbo.
He said, “Recovered from the suspect were: 32,490 pills of tramadol (225mg, 200mg, and 100mg); 936 bottles of codeine-based syrup; and various quantities of other opioids.”
While commending the efforts of the officers of the Agency for job well done in the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) tasked them and their compatriots nationwide not to rest on the achievements of 2024 but continue to raise the bar in their offensive action against drug barons and cartels with an equal measure of WADA sensitisation campaigns in the new year.
