The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Kaduna State Command, said its operatives have seized 1,045.93 kg of various illicit substances and arrested 420 suspects in the third quarter of the year.

Its commander, Mr Samaila Danmalam, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Kaduna.

Danmalam said, “The command had within the period under review arrested a total of 420 suspects, comprising 404 males and 16 females.

“The figure represents both drug dealers, drug users and traffickers.”

The commander also disclosed that the command has made seizures of various illicit substances.

He said, “The illicit substances included Cocaine, Cannabis Sativa, Rohypnol, Tramadol, Methamphetamine, and other psychotropic substances grossly weighing 1,045.93 kg.

“The command seized a total of 1,393 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and equally seized four locally made arms in the course of its numerous operations in the period being reported.

“The command equally secured the conviction of 30 drug offenders and charged a total of 54 suspects, while investigations on others are ongoing.”

Danmalam said in its non-kinetic approach to combating the drug menace through drug demand reduction activities, the command carried out various sensitization and awareness programmes.

“It counselled 50 drug users while it rehabilitated 50 drug-dependent persons, who successfully recovered and were reintegrated into mainstream society,” he stated.

He said the command would continue to combat illicit drug trafficking even as he appealed for timely and useful information for quick response and proactive measures.

Last month, NDLEA operatives intercepted consignments of cocaine and pharmaceutical opioids concealed in ladies’ sanitary pads.

Men of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have seized $6 million worth of crypto assets from Southeast Asian scammers who were defrauding Americans with confidence investment schemes.

The scammers were based in Southeast Asia and were able to pull off their schemes on US citizens from there.

The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia raised alarm on the growing cases of fraud in the country stating that one or more individual’s lost millions of dollars after they were sold on investment schemes that appeared legitimate.

The FBI during its investigations traced the stolen funds on the Blockchain and fished out multiple crypto addresses linked to the scam and were still holding over $6 million of the victim’s digital assets.

The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced the development in a recent press release.

“The United States seized over $6 million worth of cryptocurrency from perpetrators overseas. The perpetrators in Southeast Asia targeted one or more individuals in the United States and fraudulently obtained millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency through a cryptocurrency confidence investment scheme.

The FBI was able to trace victim funds on the blockchain and located multiple cryptocurrency wallet addresses which still held victim funds totaling more than $6 million.

Cryptocurrency confidence investment schemes begin with criminals contacting potential victims through seemingly misdirected text messages, dating applications, or professional meetups or investment groups. Next, using various means of manipulation, the criminal gains the victim’s affection and trust.” The US Attorney stated.

FBI Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough commented on the development too lamenting the damage such scams are causing to hardworking Americans.

These types of schemes are devastating, and they’re impacting thousands of Americans every day,” “The FBI has seen victims lose millions of dollars, and take second and third mortgages on their homes, all in the hopes of finding the next big investment opportunity. 

The seizure of millions of dollars is proof the FBI will stop at nothing to find these fraudsters who insist on taking advantage of the American public. It doesn’t matter where they are, we will leverage all of our resources and work with our partners domestically and internationally to stop them from stealing people’s hard-earned money.” 

Global stablecoin issuer Tether said that it assisted the FBI in the operation by freezing the accounts of the scammers leading to the FBI recovering the funds.

The US attorney’s office confirmed that the majority of the victims of the scam were approached through unsolicited messages, dating apps, and investment groups.

After building up the confidence and Trust of the user the scammers invite them to invest in fraudulent investment schemes which are usually clones of legitimate ones.

The victims in the long run lose all the money that they set aside for the investment.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has arrested a wanted drug kingpin, Damilare Ajiboye aka “Na God” after 12 months of evading arrest.

The arrest followed a raid on his warehouse in Akala, Mushin area of Lagos.

The NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi said in a statement on Sunday in Abuja that the suspect was arrested on Wednesday.

Babafemi said that 1,101kg of Ghana Loud, a strong strain of cannabis was recovered at the warehouse on Sept. 4, 2023.

He, however, said the arrest of Ajiboye in a bank in Ogun, followed well-coordinated efforts by the agency’s Directorate of Assets and Financial Investigation, which traced 20 bank accounts linked to the suspect and blocked them.

In a related development, Babafemi said that NDLEA operatives in Lagos on Friday took into custody a wanted community leader and Sarkin Yamma of Badagry, Alhaji Bashir Talba.

This, he said, followed the arrest of his two wives and son, as well as the seizure of a total of 226.2kg cannabis at their homes in Badagry on Sept. 18.

In another operation in Lagos, the NDLEA said more than 9.7kg cannabis sativa and 50 litres of monkey tail, a fermented combo of cannabis and dry gin, were recovered from a suspect Florence Moses at Badore area of Ajah, Lekki on Tuesday Sept. 24.

Meanwhile, In Kogi, three suspects: Owolabi Dele, 42; Ayodele Monday, 40; and Olawale Ojo, 22, were arrested by NDLEA operatives along Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway.

Babafemi said they were arrested while conveying 132 sacks of cannabis weighing 2,062.00kg in a Mercedes container truck from Osun to Dei Dei in Abuja.

Also, another suspect, Benedict Simire, 57, was arrested at Ayetoro road, Kabba, conveying 33.40kg of same psychoactive substance and a pump action gun with six cartridges on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

“On the same Wednesday, operatives of the Marine Command of NDLEA intercepted a two 40HP Yamaha engines boat bearing 71 bags of Ghana Loud weighing 2,982kgs along Alfa beach, Lekki area of Lagos.

“Men of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Western Marine Command were on hand to support the NDLEA officers to recover the boat and exhibits after the two suspects in the boat dived into the water,”he said.

Again, on Wednesday Sept. 25, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports complex, Onne, Rivers state intercepted 1,500 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup.

Babafemi said the cartons were containing a total of 150,000 bottles of the syrup and was seized during a joint examination of a targeted 40ft container, with men of Nigerian Customs and other security agencies.