NDLEA Nab Chinese Businessman at Lagos Airport, 80-Year-Old Grandma with Cocaine
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Chinese businessman, Liang Tak You, and an 80-year-old grandmother, Mrs. Grace Ekpeme, in a string of nationwide raids that uncovered large quantities of illicit drugs, including Colorado—concealed in moimoi sachets—and Canadian Loud stashed in imported canned food.
Confirming the arrests in a statement on Sunday, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the suspects were among those apprehended in a series of operations carried out across Lagos, Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Nasarawa, Borno, Niger, Ogun, Gombe, Kaduna, and Kogi states.
According to the agency, Liang was nabbed at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday, July 25. “Liang arrived from Bangkok via Dubai on an Emirates flight and was found with 50 parcels of Loud cannabis weighing 26.10kg hidden in two suitcases,” Babafemi stated. The Chinese national, who is naturalized in Malaysia, reportedly collected the consignment in Thailand before flying to Nigeria.
Mrs. Grace Ekpeme, the octogenarian suspect, was arrested at her residence on Edet-Nsa Street in Calabar South, Cross River State, in the early hours of Saturday, July 26. “She was found with over 3kg of skunk following intelligence reports about her involvement in drug trafficking,” Babafemi said.
In another operation in Lagos on Wednesday, July 23, NDLEA officers intercepted a suspect, Chidi Agbafo, along the Epe-Ajah expressway. Babafemi revealed that Agbafo was caught with 21.7kg of Colorado—some concealed in moimoi sachets—and 3.8 litres of codeine-based syrup, which he intended to deliver in Warri and Oghara, Delta State.
At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, a container shipment from Canada concealed 101kg of Canadian Loud inside 202 tins labeled as “Bean Salad Mix.” The drugs were hidden in two Toyota Sienna buses. “The seizure was made during a joint examination involving NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies on July 25,” Babafemi explained.
On the Abuja-Kaduna highway, NDLEA patrol officers on Wednesday, July 23, intercepted a commercial bus en route to Kano. “Usman Musa was arrested with 71,000 pills of opioids, including tramadol, diazepam, and exol-5,” said the NDLEA spokesman.
In Borno State, officers arrested 30-year-old Binta Usman at Muna Moforo area in Maiduguri, where they recovered 30.1kg of skunk. “A follow-up raid led to the arrest of her accomplice, Bala Abdullahi, on July 25 in the same neighbourhood,” Babafemi noted.
A major bust occurred in Idoani forest, Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, where three brothers—Nanna, Chizom, and Maxwell Ozirinye—were arrested during a raid on a cannabis plantation. “Operatives destroyed 2,500kg of skunk on one hectare of land and recovered 121.4kg of the processed drug,” said Babafemi.
In Benin City, Edo State, NDLEA raided the Asakpa community on July 23 and arrested 26-year-old Bright Sunday Okon. Babafemi stated that various strains of cannabis—Colorado, Loud, Arizona, and skunk—as well as methamphetamine, were recovered from the suspect.
In Nasarawa State, operatives discovered 105.4kg of skunk abandoned in a Honda car with registration number ABC 204 KM in Keffi. In Niger State, Babafemi disclosed that “a suspect, Bashir Abdullahi, was arrested on July 21 with 6,400 pills of tramadol 225mg at Kasuwan Gwari area of Minna.”
In another operation, a notorious drug dealer, Jamiu Omolaja, was arrested in Ifo, Ogun State, on July 24. “Despite resistance from his gang, NDLEA operatives seized 113kg of skunk from his residence,” Babafemi revealed.
In Gombe State, 10,910 tramadol capsules were seized from Adamu Adamu, also known as Dankyado, on Saturday, July 26, along the Gombe-Bajoga road. “Meanwhile, in Kogi State on July 24, operatives intercepted cannabis hidden in garri, scent leaves, and other food items along Okene-Lokoja highway,” Babafemi said. A follow-up led to the arrest of 27-year-old Kindness Bala in Abuja, who intended to smuggle the drugs to Katsina and eventually Qatar.
Also in Kogi, another seizure was made on Saturday, July 26, where 23,600 pills of tramadol, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection, and 700 grams of skunk were recovered from a truck at a motor park in Ayingba.
In addition to these operations, the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign continued across several states. “NDLEA officers conducted sensitization programs at Komu/Babaode High School, Oyo State; Beacon Christian Academy, Ebonyi; Government Day Secondary School, Sokoto; and Government Junior College, Agege, Lagos,” Babafemi noted. He added that advocacy visits were also paid to traditional rulers in Awka and Ukpo, Anambra State.
Commending the operatives across the various states, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the synergy between supply reduction and demand reduction efforts. “I commend all officers involved in these successful operations for their commitment to ridding Nigeria of illicit drugs,” Babafemi quoted the NDLEA boss as saying.
