The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two major drug kingpins in Lagos and intercepted multiple consignments of narcotics across several states, in a sweeping crackdown that disrupted trafficking networks and supplies to terrorists and bandits.
The agency’s Special Operations Unit (SOU) apprehended 64-year-old Victor Nwosa and 49-year-old Felix Chika Obiegbu after weeks of surveillance exposed their illicit businesses. Nwosa, who posed as a textile merchant, was arrested on September 17 at his Okota residence where operatives recovered 4.33 kilograms of heroin and 448 grams of cocaine. Obiegbu, known publicly as a wine distributor, was arrested earlier on September 11 at his Surulere home with 2.9 kilograms of methamphetamine.
In the North-East, NDLEA operatives intercepted suspected suppliers of illicit substances to bandits and insurgents. On September 27, 26-year-old Baba Kaka Ibrahim was arrested in Borno while driving a Mercedes Benz GLK with 39,380 pills of tramadol and exol-5 hidden in the engine compartment. The same day in Yobe State, officers arrested Halima Adamu with 39 parcels of Colorado (1.4kg) concealed in a travel bag, leading to the arrest of another suspect, Habiba Muhammad, in Maiduguri.
Further arrests were made in Kano, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Kaduna, Gombe, Lagos, Abuja and Edo, with seizures ranging from tramadol pills to methamphetamine, cannabis, and ammunition. In one operation, NDLEA officers in Kaduna intercepted 404 blocks of skunk weighing 262.6kg hidden in a Honda Pilot jeep.
The agency also recorded a major breakthrough in Edo State, where it destroyed over 24,146 kilograms of cannabis from plantations in Uromi and Ogu forests, in addition to seizing over a tonne of the drug concealed in a truckload of charcoal along the Wareke-Auchi road.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers involved, stressing that the operations underscored the agency’s commitment to safeguarding Nigeria from illicit drugs that fuel crime, terrorism and public health crises.
“Every gram of these dangerous drugs we seize and remove from our streets and communities reinforces our determination to protect our youths, disrupt criminal networks, and strengthen national security,” Marwa said.