An effort by Mrs. Pamela Odin, a 32-year-old businesswoman, to smuggle 2.150kg of Rohypnol tablets through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja was foiled by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The announcement was made in a statement released on Sunday in Abuja by Mr. Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA.
The mother of one was detained on September 23 as she tried to board a Turkish Airlines flight with the drug hidden inside pepper and packed amid food, according to Babafemi.
According to him, the suspect, an Afiesere villager from the Delta county’s Ughelli North Local Government Area, claimed to run a restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey.
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“She claimed to have come to Nigeria to see her relatives and buy food items for her restaurant business,” Babafemi added.
Mohammed Demoele, 38, and Coulibaly Maliki, 56, two Malians, have been detained by NDLEA Marine Unit operatives at Lagos’ Ebute Ero Jetty.
According to Babafemi, the suspects were detained while trying to export 34.2kg bottles of the novel psychoactive drug Akuskura to Mali via Cotonou in the Benin Republic.
In a related occurrence, Taraba-based NDLEA agents on September 29 discovered 100 compressed blocks of Cannabis sativa weighing 73.500 kg hidden inside animal feeds.
According to Babafemi, Abdulrahman Mohammed, a drug dealer who is physically disabled, was also apprehended with 104 kg of compressed cannabis sativa.
According to him, NDLEA agents detained the suspect on Saturday in Ogun.
“Another suspect, Ms. Safiya Bello, was also arrested in Shagamu area of the state with 27kg of the psychotropic substance,” he added.
Babafemi cited retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, Chairman of the NDLEA, as praising the officers and personnel at the NAIA, Taraba, and Ogun commands for their fortitude.
They were ordered by Marwa to step up ongoing offensive operations against narcotics cartels and traffickers wherever they may be found in Nigeria.
