Obiorah Chigozie Samuel (left) and other suspects in NDLEA net
Chadian, grandfather, others arrested, as NDLEA recovers 4, 000kg of hard drugs, in raids across six states
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) say they have arrested a drug kingpin previously wanted for attempts to ship illicit drug consignments to the United Kingdom through interdiction operations that led to the seizure of four tons (4,000kg) of illicit substances in the past week.
The NDLEA identified the trafficker as Obiorah Chigozie Samuel, ‘who has been on the wanted list of the Agency since 15th September 2023 when a consignment of 1.500kg skunk concealed in flour going to London, UK was intercepted at the SAHCO export shed of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos, and his freight agent, Nworah Adaugo Precious arrested.’
According tp spokesperson of the anti-narcotics agency, Mr Babafemi Femi, on Sunday, the suspect was ‘convinced that the 1.500kg consignment had sailed through, as he walked into the Agency’s dragnet on Thursday 28th September when he personally brought another tranche of 2.00kg concealed in cartons to the airport for shipment to the UK.’
“In his interview, Obiorah claimed he was into shoes sales in Lagos before venturing into the illicit drug business,” Babafemi said.
In other operations carried out by its operatives, the NDLEA reported that personnel of the Federal Capital Territory Command of the Agency on Friday 29th September intercepted a container truck with registration number BD G41 XM coming from Lagos to Kano at the Gwagwalada area of the FCT.
“No less than 1,188 kilograms of skunk loaded at Owo, Ondo state and hidden under cartons of tooth paste were recovered from the truck and its driver, Amafan Fattison, 28, arrested.
“NDLEA officers in Bayelsa state on Wednesday 27th September seized 432kgs of the same substance from an abandoned J5 bus along Saipem road, Opolo, Yenagoa. The vehicle was equally recovered from the scene for further investigation.
“In Kano, a septuagenarian grandpa, Ado Mai Unguwa, 70, was arrested on Saturday 30th September with 143.2kgs skunk in Dindere village, Tofa LGA, while operatives in Enugu same day recovered 110.6kgs of same substance from a locked-up shop at Aria new market.
“Operatives in Lagos also on Saturday 30th September stormed the notorious Idi-Oro drug enclave in Mushin where they seized 212.5kgs of cannabis sativa belonging to a wanted drug lord. This is even as NDLEA officers in Kwara state recovered 104kgs of skunk from a Toyota camry car in Offa area of the state, while a Chadian, Mohammed Ibrahim, 25, was nabbed at Mafa check point, Borno state with 11.8kgs of same substance on Monday 25th September.
“In Plateau, the state police command in the spirit of inter-agency collaboration transferred four suspects: Yusuf Akim; Frank Gah; Jackson Ejeh and Joseph Utsu, and 1,978kgs cannabis recovered from them to the state command of NDLEA, while in Cross River, operatives on Monday 25th September seized 40,000 ampules of pentazocine injection from two suspects: Fajulugbe Adeshola Temitayo, 35, and Nnaorji Agwe Solomon, 54, at Mobil by MCC road, Calabar.
“Also in Kogi state, NDLEA officers on Wednesday 27th September arrested a suspect, Ifeanyi Odoh, 25, with 59,867 pills of opioids including Tramadol and 4.03kgs cannabis sativa at Idah area of the state,” NDLEA reported.
