NDLEA Arrests Man for Body Packing Cocaine at Kano Airport, Busts Multiple Drug Dealers
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has made significant breakthroughs in its ongoing war against drug trafficking, intercepting large quantities of illicit substances and arresting multiple suspects across the country.
In a landmark operation at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, on Sunday, 15th December 2024, NDLEA operatives arrested Olisaka Chibuzo Calistus, a businessman engaged in import and export.
Calistus was caught smuggling 256 wraps of cocaine, weighing 6 kilograms, into the country.
The drugs, concealed within his body, were discovered during a routine screening of passengers arriving on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 941 from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, via Addis Ababa.
This seizure marks the single largest interception of cocaine at the Kano airport since the NDLEA established its MAKIA Command in 2006.
Similarly, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, an ex-convict, Olanrewaju Bada Akorede, was apprehended while attempting to export a shipment of rohypnol concealed in cargo containing gari, shoes, and men’s singlets.
Akorede, who had been convicted earlier this year for a similar offence, had paid a fine to avoid a two-year prison sentence but returned to the same criminal activity.
In another Lagos airport operation, Italy-based businesswoman Cynthia Akaeen was arrested on Wednesday, 18th December, with 9,190 tramadol tablets weighing 6 kilograms.
The suspect confessed she was promised €1,000 for delivering the drugs to Italy.
NDLEA also recorded notable successes outside the airports. In Onitsha, Anambra State, operatives raided a warehouse at a building material market on Tuesday, 17th December, recovering 418,330 pills of tramadol and tapentadol, along with 8,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
At Tincan Island Port in Lagos, a joint operation by NDLEA, Customs, DSS, police, and other security agencies led to the seizure of 180,000 bottles of codeine syrup from a container originating in India. The consignee, Makata Emmanuel, was promptly arrested.
In Maiduguri, Borno State, NDLEA arrested two suspects, Ishaya Wabba, 54, and Samaila Audu, 44, with 293,000 tramadol capsules, a pistol, and 26 rounds of live ammunition.
Another suspect, Sanusi Abdul Hamid, 37, was caught with 260,000 tramadol capsules, while Modu Kolera, 35, was found with a variety of substances, including 8.5 kilograms of cannabis and 50 litres of the psychoactive drug known as “suck and die.”
In Oyo State, operatives arrested Gafar Saminu, 30, with 33.5 kilograms of cannabis sativa, while in Enugu, 94 kilograms of the same substance were seized during a raid at the Aria New Market.
In addition to enforcement operations, the NDLEA has continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, holding sensitisation lectures in schools, worship centres, and workplaces.
These efforts aim to reduce drug demand and create awareness about the dangers of drug abuse.
Chairman/CEO of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency’s officers for their dedication and urged them to sustain their momentum in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse.
