NDLEA Arrests 5-Member Airport Drug Syndicate

NDLEA Arrests 5-Member Airport Drug Syndicate

*Recovers N19.8m cash from ring leader

Following the arrest of two suspects: Ofijeh John Mowa, a SAHCO driver and Nyam Gazu Alex, who is a security guard with the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) in connection with the smuggling of 1,584,000 tablets of Tramadol seized on Tuesday March 15, the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested five additional suspects.

The additional suspects include the ring leader, Yunana Fidelis, who earlier fled Lagos to Kaduna the moment their lid was blown open.

Others are Adesanwo Temitope; Owoseni Taiwo Temidayo; Fasoranti Shola and Bamigbade Jonathan.

NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said Fidelis who is also a staff of NACHO had escaped and fled to Kaduna after depositing N19,800,000.00 cash with a BDC operator to be paid later into his bank account.

After tracking him for days in Kaduna, on Friday, March 25, Fidelis relocated to Abuja where he was eventually arrested by NDLEA operatives at 7pm on Sunday, March 27 while he was trying to collect N1,000,000.00 cash from an undercover agent who posed as a BDC operator.

In addition to recovering the cash Fidelis deposited with the BDC operator in Lagos, the agency had also placed a post no debit order on his identified bank accounts.

The illegal drugs seized include 17 cartons of 250mg Tramadol branded as “Tamra” weighing 669.70kg and five cartons of 225mg Tramadol under the brand name “Royal” with a gross weight of 217.15kg.

The psychotropic substance, which was imported into the country from Pakistan, was smuggled through the Airport tarmac using one of the vehicles of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) and was intercepted at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Personnel Yard.

Meanwhile, a professional methamphetamine (Mkpuru Mmiri) cook, Reuben Bekweri, 34, has been arrested in Owerri while trying to distribute a kilogram of the illicit drug he cooked and packaged in seven nylon sachets in the Irete area of Imo State capital on Saturday, March 26.

Also, in Ado Ekiti, narcotic officers on Monday, March 28, also arrested a 42-year-old lawyer, Mr. Mayowa Oluwanisomo, in Zone 4, Embassy Island, Moferere area of the Ekiti State capital following credible intelligence that he deals in psychotropic substances.

A total of 11, 570 tablets of Tramadol weighing 7.3 kilograms were recovered from him when his residence was searched.

He admitted ownership of the drug exhibits, adding that he graduated from Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti and Abuja campus of the Nigerian Law School in 2016.