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By Ibironke Ariyo

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 2,504.8 kilograms of diverse illicit drugs from multiple suspects in five different states.

The NDLEA spokesperson, Mr Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

Babafemi noted that it was in a string of operations in Edo, Ondo, Kaduna, Kano and Kogi states, respectively in the past week that the drugs were seized.

According to him, in Kogi, 60-year-old Mrs Comfort Uzor was arrested with 62.1kg cannabis on Tuesday, Aug. 17 in Lokoja, where one Dayyabu Usman was also caught with 8kg of the same substance.

“While Uzor sourced hers from Bolorunduro in Ondo State and was heading to Abuja, Usman got his from Lagos and was taking it to Kano for sale.

“In Kaduna State, operatives of the Birnin Gwari Area Command of the agency raided the home of one Mr Joseph Sunday at Ungwa Pama, Kaduna, where they recovered 48.3kg of cannabis from his room following credible intelligence,” he said.

According to him, in Edo state, NDLEA’s officers on Tuesday, Aug. 17 stormed the Ugbuwe forest in Ovia North East LGA, where they seized 146 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 2,044 kilograms.

“While in Kano state, one Ikechukwu Aleke was arrested with 30,000 tablets of Tramadol 225mg and 99 bottles of Codeine syrup.

“In addition to the arrest was one Muktar Muhammad, with 370 bottles of codeine cough syrup, weighing 60.4kg, as well as 900 tablets of Rohypnol.

“Also arrested in Kano was Sufiyanu Abubakar, 24, with 400 plastic bottles of Codeine cough syrup weighing 52kg.

“As well as one Mutta Wada, who specialises in using courier firms to send drugs to a recipient in China, using cooking spices bottles for concealment,” he said.

Babafemi noted that over 77.5 kilograms of cannabis and monkey tail were intercepted on Saturday Aug. 21 at Odigbo town in Odigbo LGA, in Ondo state where operatives arrested one Basiru Ijiniga.

He said one Ibrahim Umaru in Sabo area of Akure South LGA was also arrested on Saturday and items recovered from him included different quantities of psychotropic substances like Diazepam, Tramadol, Swinol and Rophynol.

Reacting to the string of arrests and seizures in the past week across some states, Chairman, NDLEA, retired, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the various commands.

Marwa commended them for their unrelenting commitment to the presidential mandate to clear Nigerian forests and communities of illicit drugs in whatever form.

“We have all laid our hands on the plough, there’s no looking back, no retreat or surrender.

“I urge all our officers and men to intensify the ongoing offensive action until the last gram of illicit drug is taken away from merchants of death,” he said. (NAN)