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By Tracy Moses
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has smashed an international narcotics cartel spanning Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates, arresting three suspected kingpins and confiscating illicit substances valued at over ₦6.4 billion.
According to a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the crackdown commenced on August 26 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Operatives intercepted 76 cartons of textile materials heading to Sydney, Australia, which concealed 16 blocks of cocaine weighing 17.9kg, alongside charms believed to have been used for protection against detection.
A freight forwarder, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, was apprehended in connection with the seizure. The agency estimated the drugs had a street value of AU$5.3 million (₦5.3 billion).
Further investigations led to the arrest of the cartel’s Nigerian coordinator, Muaezee Ademola Ogunbiyi, in Ikeja GRA on September 3. Searches later uncovered 21 parcels of Canadian Loud cannabis, a pump-action rifle, and cartridges at his Lekki residence. Another senior member, Shola Adegoke, was picked up at a packaging facility in Ikeja GRA, where 9.6kg of Loud was found in a Range Rover SUV.
The agency revealed that Adegoke had previously served a prison term in the UK for methamphetamine trafficking, while Ogunbiyi had completed a 14-year jail sentence in Britain for murder.
NDLEA also named Dubai-based Adebisi Ademola Omoyele, popularly known as Mr. Bee, as the syndicate’s kingpin overseeing international operations.
In addition, the statement highlighted other successful operations across Nigeria. At the Onne Port in Rivers State, a joint operation between NDLEA and the Nigeria Customs Service intercepted 160,200 bottles of codeine-laced syrup concealed in ceramic sanitary wares, valued at about ₦1.1 billion.
Elsewhere, officers confiscated large quantities of cannabis, Loud, and Colorado across multiple states including Lagos, Abuja, Kogi, Edo, Kaduna, Anambra, Niger, and Taraba. Notably, 625kg of cannabis was recovered in Surulere, Lagos, while 18.7 tonnes of skunk were destroyed on two separate plantations in Taraba State.
At Lagos airport, operatives also arrested a Milan-based Nigerian, Gabriel Michael, who attempted to smuggle 24,480 tramadol tablets to Italy. He admitted the drugs were intended to generate €19,520.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), commended the officers for their diligence and urged them to sustain the momentum in line with the agency’s dual strategy of law enforcement and its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign.