A Qatar-based businessman, Agu Evidence Amobi, and one other, Uchegbu Onyebuchi Obi, have been arrested with consignments of psychoactive substances at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
In a Sunday statement, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said its operatives arrested the suspects on Saturday, December 30.
“While Amobi was arrested on Saturday 30th December at the departure point of terminal 2 of the MMIA on his way to Doha, Qatar on a Qatar Airways flight, Obi was taken into custody same day following the seizure of a consignment of 72,000 pills of tramadol 225mg, which he attempted shipping to Kano on a local flight.
“Amobi who claimed he’s been living and working in Doha, Qatar for over 10 years was caught with 1.30kg cannabis sativa concealed in a bag of foodstuff. He claimed he bought the substance in Enugu to deliver in Doha to enable him raise enough funds to pay his rents in Doha and Nigeria and school fees of his three children.
“In the same vein, NDLEA operatives at the domestic wing of the airport intercepted a carton containing a total of 72,000 pills of tramadol 250mg with a gross weight of 38.50kg.
“This was closely followed with the arrest of Uchegbu Onyebuchi Obi who brought the consignment to the airport for shipment to Kano,” the statement signed by NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi read in part.
Babafemi added that on Christmas day, 25th December in Yobe state, NDLEA officers on patrol along Nguru-Gashua road intercepted the trio of Musa Sani, Mohammed Ibrahim and Adamu Usman in truck conveying 39 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 15.7kg and 128,500 pills of opioids.
“Follow up operations the following day 26th December led to the arrest of the actual owner of the cannabis consignment, Ali Ibrahim (a.k.a Ramos) in Geidam where additional 208 blocks of the same substance were recovered from his house, bringing the total to 247 blocks weighing 94.74kg, while the owner of the seized opioids, Mustapha Goni (a.k.a Lolo) was equally arrested,” the anti-narcotics agency said.