Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully dismantled an international drug syndicate with operations spanning Nigeria, South Africa, and Thailand.
In a two-week intelligence-led operation conducted in Lagos, Abia, and Anambra states, five members of the cartel were apprehended following the seizure of illicit drug consignments at the NAHCO import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos.
According to NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi on Sunday revealed that the unraveling of the drug cartel commenced on April 20th when four large suitcases arrived at the NAHCO shed via an Air Peace airline flight from Johannesburg, South Africa. The first suspect, Umeh Chisom Peter, was arrested on April 24th upon his arrival to retrieve two of the suitcases containing Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis belonging to a Thailand-based syndicate member, Obum Michael.
Babafemi revealed that the illicit drugs, totaling 17.6 kilograms of Loud and drug candies, were concealed within false bottoms of the suitcases. Further investigations led to the arrest of Mrs. Chiwendu Uche Ugbe, whose husband, Aloytus Uche Ugbe based in South Africa, was implicated in sending some of the consignments. Ugbe was apprehended in Anambra state on April 27th while attempting to collect drug parcels dispatched by her husband.
Two additional suspects, Onyejakor Francis Chimezie and Naaji Valentine Chukwukere, with ties to the syndicate, were arrested in different locations in Lagos on April 29th. Their apprehension facilitated another operation in Abia state, resulting in the arrest of Mrs. Chinazo Osigwe, who was intercepted while attempting to collect drug parcels sent by her husband, Osigwe Chidiebere Anthony, operating from South Africa.
