Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA have thwarted efforts by drug cartels from Brazil and Canada to bring 126.95 kilograms of cocaine and skunk concealed in herbal tea packs and imported vehicles into Nigeria at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu and the Tincan seaport in Lagos.
The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, revealed this in a statement today.
At the Enugu airport, an Ethiopian Airline male passenger coming from Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was intercepted on arrival at the airport at about 12:30 pm on Friday, January 20. A search of his two bags revealed 19 big sachets which he claimed contained herbal tea but were later found to be cocaine weighing 16.20 kilograms.
In the same vein, a joint examination carried out on a container from Montreal, Canada by NDLEA operatives attached to Tincan Command of the agency on Wednesday, January 18, led to the discovery of 110.75kgs of cannabis Indica concealed in two of the four vehicles in the container.
Babafemi further noted that deliberate efforts by the agency to cut access to illicit opioids again paid off on Tuesday when a consignment of Tramadol being tracked by NDLEA operatives for some months was eventually traced to a warehouse at the Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos.
He assured of the NDLEA’s resolve to keep fighting against the surge of illegal drugs in the country.