The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has conducted new raids on online drug traffickers in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, during which a young lady and her boyfriend, as well as eight others, were arrested and various drugs were recovered from them.
According to a statement issued by the Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the first suspect, 28-year-old Ese Patrick, who sells her illegal narcotics through the Instagram account Ese’sOvenSecret, was apprehended on May 21, 2021, with some brownies ordered online by NDLEA undercover officers and delivered by her and her partner in a Mercedes Benz car.
A follow-up operation at her home resulted in the confiscation of 400 grams of Arizona cannabis, which she uses in making her brownies.
Mr. Babafemi said further investigation led to the arrest of one Iyama Patrick, with 450 grams of Arizona weed. He supplies Ese the cannabis she uses.
He added that a dispatch rider had abandoned a motorcycle belonging to a courier business, Sky Port, in Wuse zone 4 the day before after seeing NDLEA’s presence in the region. The motorcycle was later discovered to have several pinches of crack cocaine (a.k.a. Challie) and some envelops of Arizona meant for delivery.
Peter Nkejika, another internet drug trafficker, was detained on Monday, May 24th, 2021, when a dispatch rider was found with a quantity of Loud, a highly euphoric variety of cannabis. The rider was nabbed carrying 17 servings of loud for delivery, each costing N30,000.
Also on Tuesday 25th May, NDLEA operatives intercepted two online drug transactions and arrested two dispatch riders with some quantities of cocaine and Loud already packaged for delivery recovered from them.
In all, five dispatch riders and a lady, Dolapo Benjamin who owns motorcycles involved in door to door distribution of drugs and drug based edibles; cakes and brownies were arrested while six despatch motorcycles involved in door to door drug distribution were seized.
Also seized from them were assorted drugs; Cocaine, Crack /Challie, Molly/ Ecstasy, Skunk, Brownies and Loud, which is the most expensive psychoactive variant of cannabis in town.
In a related development, on the 27th May 2021, operatives intercepted 30 compressed parcels of cannabis, heading to Ningi, Bauchi state, as well as Rohypnol and Tramadol meant for the FCT.
The drugs weighing 105.5 kilograms were seized along Gwagwalada- Abuja road, in a luxury bus. Three persons were arrested in connection with the exhibits, while two more dispatch motorcycles were seized with some quantities of cocaine and cannabis on Saturday, May 29 as the raids across the FCT intensify.
Meanwhile, operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) of the agency have intercepted 445 grams of Methamphetamine going to New Zealand and concealed inside USB chargers and hair attachments, with another 450 grams of cannabis sativa going to UAE and concealed inside local soap containers at a courier company in Lagos. In the same vein, 125 grams of heroin concealed inside academic thesis books was seized at another firm while 2kg of cannabis sativa hidden inside tractor’s balloon was intercepted at another courier company also in Lagos.
Following the latest arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has directed the FCT Command of the Agency to immediately embark on stop and search of commercial dispatch riders across the nation’s capital city to curb the online drug trafficking trend in the FCT.
He also commended the Commander, Mohammed Malami Sokoto, his officers and men for the recent successes and sustaining the offensive against the latest trend in illicit drug trafficking in the nation’s seat of power. The NDLEA boss also commended officers and men of DOGI for their vigilance and commitment to work.
