By Stephen Ubanna
Buba Marwa, a retired Brigadier General and a former Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa who is now the Chairman, Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency drug war appears to have disrupted business of the drug barons and their agents at the land border, seaports and airports .
This may have become possible because of the good working relationship between the NDLEA Operatives and Hamid Ali, a retired army Colonel and Comptroller General, Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, officers and men at these Land borders, seaports and airports in different parts of the count
The recent seizures of several sacks of Sativa Canabis, popular Indian Hemp, in Local Parlance, heading to Nigeria the West African country of Ghana, speaks volume. The sacks which were neatly packaged with over 230 parcel of the West African country grown Indian Hemp, was valued at about N0.41 billion
The Customs intercepted Indian Hemp, was, however, o handed over to the NDLEA, Commander at the Seme Border Community , which is between Nigeria and Benin Republic, Nurudeen Audu, for further investigations. He was said to have sent the report of the Indian Hemp, drug seizure handed over to the Command by the Seme Command Customs Authorities to the agency Management at the Abuja Headquarters, who were very appreciable.
The seizure of the Ghana grown dangerous weeds may have informed why the two Collaborating agencies Operatives have beamed their searchlight on inbound cargoes, mostly in sacks coming from Ghana into Nigeria to ensure that the Sativa Canabis did not enter the country illegally from Benin to fall into wrong hands.
While Jibo and his Enforcement officers have made the Sativa Canabis business, a difficult one at the Seme Jurisdiction, the unusual cocain, Heroin peddlers using the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, described as the major route of drug pedddlers in Nigeria, appears to have devised new tactics to carry out their nefarious activities at the Nigerian’s busiest International airport.
An eyewitness account told The Value News that they may not have been lucky in applying the new tricks of their trade to smuggle the drugs into the Nigerian market as the NDLEA Operatives, at the country’s airports who were said to be following the instructions of Marwa, the Chairman, on how to identify the traffickers have continued to puncture all the tricks.
This is evident going by the large quantities of pellets of cocain, Heroin, that was said to have been seized from the drug traffickers between April 10, 2021 and April18, 2021 at the MMIA, alone. Some of the seized pellets were said to have been excreted by the suspects under close Observation.
Many believe that the NDLEA Operatives were able to identify the suspects who had excreted the pellets from their behavior. This is because the drug swallowed has the number of hours it could stay in the stomach and be excreted at the designate location or it will explode and kill the trafficker.
T Take for instance, the NDLEA, Operatives operations on Sunday, April 18, 2021, which had resulted in the excretion of 191 pellets. The operation had forced the suspect to excrete 191 pellets, equivalent of 834.5Kg of the illicit drugs by a trafficker heading to the North American country of the United States and the United Kingdom,UK .
Prior to the Sunday, April 18, 2021, operation, the NDLEA Operatives at the MMIA, had on April 12, 2021, during an inbound eamination of Consignments on an Ethiopian airline cargo flight from South Africa, made a seizure of 11.50Kg of Heroin, packaged and concealed in Corn Flakes cartons.
Four clearing agents were said to have been arrested and detained in connection with the drugs import and who are currently assisting the Drug agency Operatives in carrying out further investigations on the illicit drugs. Ahmadu Garba, Commander , NDLEA, Command at the MMIA, had said that the Cocain-Heroin drugs were discovered when a’’ sting operation was executed on the address provided by the suspects’’.
The address was said to have given a clue that the drug import has a link with, one Kayembe Kamba Mazeppy, a Congolese living in Lagos. He was said to have been promptly arrested. On interrogation, he was said to have mentioned the Nigerian who was to receive the drug imports from him.
Acting on the information supplied by the suspect,’’ another sting operation was said to have been conducted’’ on Saturday, April 17, 2021, as the person that would take delivery of the parcels had come to collet it based on the arrangement with the barons but was arrested by the NDLEA Operatives and detained. Bad market for the oversea drug barons and the trafficker.
As a prelude to the Saturday sting that led to the seizure of another batch of Heroin at, the MMIA, the the NDLEA operatives were said to have intercepted and seized 882.950Kg of Heroin heading to the United States and UK. The trafficker, one Ezekiel Chibuzo, was said to have arrived from Brazil, a North American country,described as a notorious drug country, onboard a Qatar airline. He was said to have exreted 99 wraps after being arrested for drug ingestion.
It would be recalled that penultimate weeks, a Madrib , Spain –bound, drug trafficker, one Okonkwo Chimezie, Henry, had excreted 13 wraps of cocain after his arrest at MMIA.
.. Recall that on April 10, 2021, during the outward screening of Passengers on a Ethiopian airline to Italy, the NDLEA, Operatives at the busy MMIA had intercepted and referred one suspected Chukwududi Destiny, for proper scanning and the scan result was said to have proved to be positive to drug ingestion. He was said to have been placed under excretion Observation and finally excreted 92 pellets of Heroin, equivalent of 1.300Kg.
The excretion of the Heroin drugs by the outward Passenger on an Ethiopian airline placed under close Observation may have forced the NDLEA Operatives at the MMIA, to further subject all inbound cargoes on an Ethiopian airline cargo flight from South Africa, to examination Tthe Marwa’s boys at the SIFAX Cargo Handling Company, SAHCO, Import Shed were said to have made a seizure of 11.550Kg of Heroin. The drug peddler was said to have cleverly packed and Concealed it Corn Flakes cartons. Bad news for Corn Flakes dealers. The seizure of the offensive drugs by the NDLEA Operatives may have informed why the agency Operatives at National Cargo Handling Company, popular, NAHCO, and their Customs Collaborators, have tightened up security at the Import shed.
Aliyu Sadiq, a Deputy Comptroller, overseeing the NAHCO Shed, was said to have given a matching order to his officers to work closely work with the NDLEA, Operatives at the NAHCO shed to properly scrutinize all inbound cargoes before they are cleared. The worry of many is that since the had made the first attempt to use the SAHCO, shed, but were caught, they may also want to try to use the NAHCO import shed to carry out their nefarious activities.
Maritime analysts fear that there may be a replay of what happened at the Lagos ports. The Cocain/Heroin baron and their agents from their Brazil base had attempted to use the Tincan Island port to smuggle 43.10Kg, allegedly Concealed in Raw Bulk sugar stocked in a ‘40’ Container which was loaded in an MV.SPAR Scopio vessel arriving from Brazil.
The problem encountered at the Tin can Island port may have force forced the Brazilian drug barons and their agents to take their drug import business to the premier port, Apapa on the second leg. The drug barons were said to have shipped 40parcels , equivalent of 43.1 Kg through the Apapa port valued at at about N32 billion but the agents were unable to exit it from the port. The shipped parcels of heroin were said to have into Customs and NDLEA, officials’ hands at port during routine examination.
Between January and March, 2021, the had reported that it made over N75 billion worth of drug seizures across the country, land borders, seaports and the MMIA. The agency was said to have also made 2000 areests in connection with the drug seizures.
