The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced that received a total of 183 Nigerians made up of 176 males and 7 females deported on drug related offences in 2015.
The agency also seized narcotic drugs valued at 3.7 billion naira at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos during the same period.
This was disclosed by the acting Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Mrs. Roli Bode-George who said that the monetary value of seized drugs underscores the threat posed by illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse.
”Drug trafficking is a serious crime capable of undermining our security. The agency is working very hard to seize drugs and financially incapacitate drug trafficking organisations. Efforts will be intensified to drastically reduce drug trafficking through continuous arrest and prosecution as well as drug demand reduction programmes. We must continue to channel our resources towards a safe and healthy society,” she stated.
NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Mr. Ahmadu Garba while giving a breakdown of seized drugs said that the last arrest in 2015 was that of a 37-year old lady recruited on facebook to smuggle drugs to Malaysia.
“The airport command arrested 122 males and 20 females with 594.002k of drugs valued at 3.7 billion naira. The drugs consist of 172kg of cannabis, 160kg of ephedrine, 114kg of methamphetamine, 96kg of cocaine, 45kg of tramadol and five kg of heroin. Interestingly the last arrest for the year was that of a lady who was recruited by a facebook lover based in Malaysia”.
The suspect Ezeabata Uju Gloria was caught with 1.325kg of methamphetamine on her way to Malaysia and one Mr. Philip Maduabuchi Akpaka, 39, who is the suspected leader of the drug cartel in Nigeria who prepared the travel documents of Gloria was equally arrested.
“Out of the total number of those arrested, 55 were importing drugs from other countries, 62 others were exporting drugs out of the country while 25 were arrested within the State. Italy had the highest number of deportees with 55, Thailand 41, United States 24 and 17 from Norway. Other countries are South Africa 15, Spain 10, France and Saudi Arabia 3 each while Brazil, China and Greece deported two persons each. One person each was deported from Zambia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Peru, Indonesia, India Belgium, Austria and Argentina,” the agency said.
