Crime
NDLEA intercepts UK-bound N5Billion worth meth, arrests baron, seals Lekki mansion
Seizes drug consignment, military uniforms going to Borno; nabs jailbird in Adamawa
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted a large consignment of methamphetamine concealed in powdered custard containers as part of a consolidated cargo going to London, United Kingdom at the SAHCO export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos.
The illicit drug consignment weighing 30.10 kilograms with a street value of N567million was detected and seized by NDLEA operatives at the airport on Tuesday 16th May.
This was swiftly followed by series of follow-up operations that led to the arrest of a freight agent, Nwobodo Chidiebere; a female suspect, Chioma Lucy Akuta and ultimately the drug lord behind the shipment, Charles Chinedu Ezeh, who was arrested at Sotel Suites, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos on Thursday 18th May.
Ezeh claims he’s a businessman and deals in articles in Onitsha, Anambra State but investigations reveal he lived with his wife and children in London until 10th December 2022 when he fled to Nigeria after his involvement in a drug related offence in the UK.
Though he claimed to have been living in hotels since his return to Nigeria last December, operatives were however able to locate his mansion at No. 1 Hawawu Abikan Street, Lekki, on Friday 19th May, where a search was conducted and his travel and property documents among others were recovered.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Adamawa on Monday 15th May arrested a 32-year-old notorious drug dealer, Prince Ikechukwu Uzoma, in Mubi area of the state with 1kg of skunk.
Ikechukwu had twice been arrested in the past, and convicted for the same offence.
He was in 2017 sentenced to six months imprisonment and in 2019 he was again sent to two years in jail. In the same vein, a trans-border trafficker, Faisal Mohammed, 27, was on Wednesday 17th May arrested in Mubi following the interception of a truck from Onitsha, Anambra State, where a total of 2,376 sachets of tramadol comprising 23,760 pills were found concealed in three blue rubber Jerrycans which were hidden underneath the body part of the trailer.
The suspect admitted the opioid was to be taken to Cameroon.
In Oyo state, two suspects: Osas Susan, 35, and Thomas Biodun, 23, were arrested at Igbon, Gambari in Ogbomoso North LGA with 2.13kg cannabis while Idris Muhammed, 55, was nabbed with 4,500 pills of tramadol when a commercial bus conveying him and other passengers was stopped and searched along Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Similarly, Bulus Mikah, 63, was arrested at Kafanchan, Kaduna state with over 5kg opioids including tramadol, diazepam, rohypnol and exol-5, just as a total of 965kg cannabis was seized from Shehu Muhammadu Dandare, 25, at Maraban Jos, in Igabi local government area of the state.
While 552kg cannabis was recovered from a warehouse in a bush when operatives stormed and destroyed 1.5 hectares of cannabis farm in Uhodoua forest, Esan South East LGA, Edo state, 10 suspects were arrested with a total of 5.587kg cannabis sativa, 144.4grams of methamphetamine and 48, 260 capsules of tramadol in different parts of Onitsha, Anambra state on Friday 19th May.
In Kwara, two suspects: Mohammed Isa, 47 and Mohammed Haman, 36, were arrested on Friday 19th May along Ilorin/Lagos road in a commercial bus on their way to Maiduguri, Borno state with 6kg cannabis, 50grams of methamphetamine and 20 pieces of military camouflage caps and uniforms.
The same day, operatives in Jigawa state nabbed one Ibrahim Abdullahi, 53, with 120kg cannabis at Sara town in Gwaram LGA.
Not less than 628 bottles of new psychoactive substance, skuchies when operatives raided a drug joint at Idanre where four suspects were arrested.
They include: Olamide Olusola, 26; Abiodun Tijjani, 21; Fatope Temidayo, 29; Agba Obi, 30 and Olafisoye Festus, 26. In the same vein, a suspect, Kayode Hakeem, 22, was arrested at Hawan Dawaki, Kano with 293 blocks of cannabis weighing 211.6kg.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has commended the officers and men of MMIA command for their professionalism and speed with which they were able to track and arrest another drug kingpin, Ezeh Chinedu Charles.
He charged them and their colleagues in Adamawa, Oyo, Kaduna, Edo, Kwara, Jigawa, Ondo and Kano as well as those in other commands and formations across the country not to rest on their oars.
Crime
Thieves cart away cows meant for church harvest celebration
Suspected thieves have carted away two cows from the premises of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) Testimony Parish in the Egbeda area of Oyo state.
In a post published on its Facebook page, the church said the stolen cows, bought at N1.9 million, were meant for its annual adult harvest thanksgiving celebration.
The incident happened on November 11 as the church prepared for the celebration slated for November 17.
After days of searching for the missing cows, the church solicited for financial contributions to buy new cows for the harvest celebration.
“Dear Celestians and The General public, This 2 Huge Cows was stolen where it was Tied in The Church Premises at CCC Testimony parish Elerumoke Area, Egbeda, Iyana Ajia and its meant for slaughter for the 9th adult harvest thanksgiving of the church coming up this Sunday 17th November 2024,” the church wrote on Facebook.
“We hereby solicit for your prayer for quick recovery of this harvest thanksgiving sacrificial materials.
“Anybody with useful information on how to recover these cows or any means of assistance to make the harvest thanksgiving a beautiful one should contact the parish shepherd.”
Crime
NDLEA arrests businessman for smuggling cocaine through ingestion
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has announced the arrest of a businessman caught with a large quantity of cocaine.
Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy, revealed the arrest on Sunday via his X account, accompanied by a video displaying the seized contraband.
The businessman, whose identity has not been disclosed, reportedly ingested a substantial quantity of cocaine in an attempt to avoid detection.
Babafemi wrote, “Detty December: Before you swallow those drugs, please remember that the new @ndlea_nigeria has the capacity and capability to catch you.
“The businessman who excreted this amount of cocaine will not only spend Christmas behind bars but also risks a life sentence at the end of his trial. Beware!”
Crime
UK teenager risks 20 years in Dubai prison for sex with 17-year-old girl
An 18-year-old British boy has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old girl in Dubai.
Detained in Dubai, a group of UAE legal experts, said the teenager was on holiday with his parents when he met the girl — who is now 18 — at the same hotel.
The teenagers who are both from London were said to have made plans to continue their romance when they returned to the UK.
The group, which campaigns to help people it says have suffered injustice in the UAE, said the young man was charged because the girl’s mother found their chats and pictures back in the UK.
It was gathered that the woman subsequently contacted police in Dubai and he was arrested.
The boy however claimed he was unaware that the girl was younger than him when they met. The teenager also disclosed that he was in police custody for three days and was unable to contact his parents.
“We had a wonderful time together. We really liked each other but she was secretive with her family because they were strict,” he told Detained in Dubai.
“My parents knew about our relationship but she couldn’t tell hers. She had to meet me without telling them it was to see a boy.
“When she left, I couldn’t wait to see her again when I got home. Then suddenly, police knocked on our hotel door. They said they were taking me in for questioning but wouldn’t tell me why. I was frightened and my parents were terrified.”
The teenager, it is understood, could face up to two decades in prison owing to Dubai’s strict laws regarding sex outside marriage.
Radha Stirling, chief executive of the campaign group, said Dubai recently legalised out-of-wedlock sex for tourists but “still hosts a strict Islamic legal system”.
“Sex outside marriage is legal for tourists but only if both parties are over 18. The girl was just a few months younger than Marcus and he didn’t know that at the time,” Stirling said.
“Since his arrest, she has turned 18. This is not something Dubai should be prosecuting.
“Parents will be scared to take their older teenagers on vacation with them where they could end up losing their lives over behaviour that’s completely legal in their own countries.”
The teenager and his family have called on foreign secretary David Lammy, their local MP, to intervene in the case.
The teenager is no longer being held in a police cell but is unable to leave the country, with his family facing bills of £2,000 for Airbnb accommodation until his case is resolved.
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