- The drugs were found hidden within the cargo, which included auto parts, lamps, and electronics destined for Liberia
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a spare parts dealer, Ejiofor Nnaemeka Chiwuzie, for allegedly attempting to export heroin and a strain of cannabis known as ‘loud’.
Mr. Chiwuzie was detained after the substances were discovered concealed in LED rechargeable lamps and metal legs for sofas at the export shed of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. According to the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the suspect was apprehended at the Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, Lagos, where he operates his business.
Mr. Babafemi said the arrest followed the seizure of 37 parcels of heroin weighing 1.1 kilograms and four blocks of loud weighing 1.2 kilograms. The drugs were found hidden within the cargo, which included auto parts, lamps, and electronics destined for Liberia.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of two freight agents involved in handling the shipment.
The NDLEA also disrupted several attempts by drug networks to export consignments of loud, tramadol, co-codamol, pentazocine, dihydrocodeine, and promethazine to destinations including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Thailand, and Oman. The agency’s officers, attached to the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation, intercepted the drugs at various courier companies in Lagos.
Among the seizures were 2.3 kilograms of loud bound for Thailand, 749 grams of tramadol concealed in the soles of locally made footwear destined for Oman, and 60 ampoules of pentazocine heading to the US. Other items included 200 co-codamol pills meant for Australia and 700 tablets of dihydrocodeine, promethazine, and tramadol concealed in footwear soles bound for the UK.
All seizures were made between Monday, 23 September and Tuesday, 24 September, the NDLEA confirmed.