NDLEA Nabs 60 Suspects In 2020 , As Khat Leaves Tops Agency’s  Most Intercepted Drug  

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ((NDLEA) at the Murtala Mohammed International airport, Lagos Command said a total  60 suspects were arrested last year comprising 52 males and eight females.

 

The command also  made a total seizure of 3413.463 kilograms of illicit drugs from January to December 2020.

 

According to the airport commander, Garba Ahmadu who made the disclosure in a briefing with journalists on Tuesday, the drugs consisted of Cocaine, methamphetamine, Cannabis Sativa, Khat leaves, Ephedrine as well as psychotropic substances.

 

Ahamdu explained that Khat leaves were the most frequently seized drug for 2020, accounting for 87.70 per cent of total seizures, weighing 2993.350 kilograms in total.

 

Khat plant (Catha edulis) are chewed for stimulant and euphoric effects, and traditionally have been used for medicinal purposes as well as recreationally.

 

Khat contains cathinone and cathine, which are the chemicals that produce the stimulant effects.

 

Ahmadu noted that He noted that after due investigation 44 were convicted after they were charged to the Federal High Court.

 

Similarly, the drug enforcement agency recorded a total seizure of 1.260 kilograms of illicit drugs in 2019. It also arrested 101 suspects last year comprising 87 males and 15 females.

 

 

 

Speaking on some of the seizures already made in 2021, the airport commander expressed worry over the seizure of Class A drugs which clarified was Cocaine.

 

He said, “The year started with serious concern because of the seizures we have started recording. We have started recording significant seizures of Class A drugs. The first seizure is particularly significant because we started recording cocaine.”

 

He said that operatives of the NDLEA at MMIA arrested one Okeke Pascal with 13kg of cocaine cleverly concealed in packet shirts on January 6, 2021. He said Pascal is a second-time offender and also a fugitive wanted by the Federal High Court Lagos for jumping bail for a drug-related offence in 2014.

 

Similarly, Azubike Emeka was also arrested on January 8, 2021 with 7.8kg of cocaine neatly conceded in an embroidery material. He added that both suspects were apprehended during the inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines from Brazil.

 

Also, Abdul Musa, a freight forwarder was arrested on January 8, 2021 with 117 grams of cocaine destined for India at Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc export cargo shed. The hard drug was wrapped and concealed in a hair relaxer labelled “Ozone.”

 

In his confession, Pascal, a two-time offender revealed that he did not jump bail seven years ago.

 

He said, “In 2014, someone gave a towel as a gift to give to his people. I have a shop in Brazil, I sell toys. I didn’t jump bail. When I called my lawyer he told me that they could not extract the drugs. So my guarantor who is my older brother said the case would be dropped.

 

Pascal said he went to the Nigerian Immigration Service to obtain another passport saying that he had a case involving his other passport which was declared closed.

 

He said, “This time around it was a shirt given to me by Chike, my good friend of six years. When I was going to the airport, I was in a taxi when I got the shirt.”

 

Pascal said he, however, tried to get Chike but has not been able to reach him.

 

The airport commander while thanking the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime appealed to the general public to support the drug war in order to guarantee national security. He explained that drug trafficking is deadly, and citizens to desist from it.