Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended a suspected drug trafficker, Egwu Phillip Inya, a 42-year-old building engineer, while attempting to retrieve illicit drugs concealed within imported pressure machines.

According to Punch Online, the arrest, confirmed in a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, took place on Monday, December 2, 2024, at Okeyson Motor Park in Enugu.

Inya was caught collecting three pressure machines containing 7.4 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain.

According to the statement, the shipment had arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos on November 29, 2024.

Acting on intelligence, NDLEA’s MMIA Strategic Command tracked the cargo through customs clearance to a logistics warehouse outside the airport.

Initially, the consignment was to be collected there, but the pickup location was unexpectedly changed to Enugu. In a follow-up operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted and arrested Inya upon his arrival to collect the parcel.

In another operation on Friday, December 6, NDLEA officers in Adamawa State intercepted a Siena vehicle containing 511,000 tramadol pills near Hildi, Askira Uba. The vehicle’s occupants abandoned it upon realizing they were being pursued by the operatives.

The statement detailed, “NDLEA operatives recovered no fewer than 511,000 pills of tramadol from a Siena vehicle at Hildi, Askira Uba, Adamawa State. The occupants fled after spotting the NDLEA patrol team and left the vehicle with the consignments when they realized they were being followed.”

Additionally, in Ekiti State, NDLEA officers arrested two suspects, Olanrewaju Alale, 48, and Babatunde Kayode Ijadahun, 55. They were caught transporting 1,323 kilograms of cannabis in a J5 bus along the Ise-Emure Road.

These operations highlight NDLEA’s ongoing efforts to disrupt drug trafficking networks across the country.

The statement added, “In Ekiti State, two suspects, Olanrewaju Alale, 48, and Babatunde Kayode Ijadahun, 55, were arrested along Ise-Emure Road in a J5 bus marked EPE 958 XJ while transporting 108 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 1,323 kilogrammes to Owo, Ondo State. From there, they claimed the consignment would be moved to the North for distribution. Another suspect, Adekunle Yusuf, 33, was nabbed by NDLEA operatives with 704 kilogrammes of the same psychoactive substance, concealed in white sacks on Friday, December 6, at Idere Road, Igboora, Oyo State.”

Further arrests took place in Lagos State. On December 6, NDLEA operatives apprehended a 65-year-old grandmother, Ramata Bola Adeyemo, at 62 Odunfa Street, Lagos Island, recovering 20.6 litres of codeine-based syrup.

Additionally, on December 5, Alhaji Lawan Manga was arrested on Ogundana Street, Ikeja, with 4.7 kilogrammes of cannabis and 1.3 kilograms of tramadol.