About 4,560 kilogrammes of cannabis have been seized during different operations in Lagos, Adamawa and Osun by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in the last one week.
According to a statement on Sunday, July 9 by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA also raided a ‘skucchies’ factory in Ogun and arrested four members of a drug syndicate including two church officials; female staff of a courier company and another lady, involved in trafficking fentanyl in Delta.
He noted that the fentanyl syndicate busy is coming barely a month after two members of another syndicate: Odoh Oguejiofor and Oliver Uzoma were arrested at Ogbogwu market, Onitsha Head Bridge, Onitsha South local government area, Anambra State following months of intelligence-led investigation of the syndicates behind the dangerous drug, which is 100 times more potent than heroin .
Babafemi said two officials of Christ Mercyland Deliverance Ministries (aka Mercy City Church), Warri, Delta state: Adewale Ayeni, 39, and Ebipakebina Appeal, 41, linked to two intercepted consignments of the illicit drug have been arrested in Warri. He disclosed that while Ayeni is one of those managing the prayer call centre of the church, Ebipakebina is in charge of movement of international guests from the airport to the church.
He said two female accomplices also arrested in Warri in the course of investigating the intercepted shipments include Naomi David, 28, who is a staff of United Parcel Services (UPS), and Stacy Njideka, also known as Nkiruka, 27, who is a business associate of Ayeni.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 1st July arrested a suspect, Segun Odeyemi conveying 89 jumbo bags of skunk with a total weight of 3,842 kilogrammes in his truck around Eleganza area of Ajah, Lekki, while in Osun state an abandoned J5 Peugeot bus marked AAA 521 SQ with bags of fresh pepper used to conceal 25 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 300.5 kilogrammes was recovered along Akure-Ilesa expressway after its occupants sighted NDLEA officers on patrol last Friday.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) gave kudos to operatives in Adamawa, Lagos, Osun and Ogun for the arrests and seizures of the past week.
