Operatives of Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency recently refused a hefty N10 million bribe offered in a bid to secure the release of one Tsolaye Eburajolo.
The 40-year-old suspect was arrested in the Ago Palace area of Okota, Lagos, in connection with a massive drug seizure at the Tincan and Onne ports between October 22 and 23.
The NDLEA, working in tandem with Customs and other security agencies, intercepted 26,250,000 tramadol pills and 508,400 bottles of codeine syrup, drugs with an estimated street value of over N16.68 billion.
In a statement issued by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi on Sunday, it was confirmed that the bribe money offered to release Eburajolo would now serve as an exhibit in his prosecution case.
In addition to this major seizure, Babafemi detailed other illicit consignments uncovered during a thorough inspection of watch-listed containers.
These included “10 million tablets of Toradol Benzhexol and 28 plastic drums of methamphetamine weighing 700 kg at Tincan and Onne respectively,” he stated, as well as “56 parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 28 kg, from a container that arrived at the Lagos Port from Canada.”
In separate operations, NDLEA officers seized over 293 ampoules of promethazine and pentazocine injections, alongside tramadol tablets hidden in hair extensions and shoe soles, destined for various international locations including the U.S., U.K., and Oman. On October 12, another shipment of 2,118 tramadol pills was confiscated at the Lagos airport, concealed within 13 pairs of shoes bound for Cyprus.
This led to a follow-up raid on October 24 in Enugu, where agents apprehended Okenwa Kelvin Uchenna, recovering an additional 380 tablets from his residence.
In Lagos, on October 25, NDLEA agents conducted a raid at the Igbo-Igunuko shrine at Alfa Beach, Ajah. There, they confiscated 2,760 kg of Ghanaian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, and arrested suspects Gbenga and Sunday Abiodun.
Another individual, Ademola Oyelakin, was apprehended the same day with 770 kg of cannabis along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Babafemi also revealed that operatives recovered an underground stash of drugs at the residence of Muhammad Abdullahi on Marwa Coastal Road, Lekki Phase 1.
The stash, cleverly hidden beneath a padlocked iron slate and covered by a mattress, contained “11,786 pills of tramadol, molly, Rohypnol, diazepam, and 64 bottles of codeine syrup.”
In Plateau State, agents arrested 39-year-old Fadan Bindom in Pilgani village, seizing 65.85 kg of cannabis and 18 grams of tramadol.
Another suspect, Sunday Agbata, 42, was detained in Pavwei, Rayfield, Jos South LGA, with 5,830 tablets and ampoules of bromazepam, diazepam, and pentazocine on October 23.
Babafemi described a significant arrest in Abuja, where a major drug distributor, Umar Muhammed, 40, was detained on October 21 after the earlier seizure of a 198.5 kg cannabis consignment tied to him at Wuse Market Park.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives discovered 640 kg of cannabis packed in 80 jumbo bags concealed within a shipment of fresh vegetables at Ewu Junction, Irrua, Esan Central LGA. They also arrested 27-year-old Austin Oruamen.
Additionally, in Osun State, a raid on October 24 led to the arrest of Adereti Kazeem, 35, who was found in possession of 200 blocks of cannabis, weighing a total of 133 kg, in Obalayan, Ile-Ife.
