Gom Mirian
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 29-year-old South African, Erasmus Jean Pierre, while attempting to export 2.6 kilogrammes (kgs) of methamphetamine concealed in his luggage at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, its operatives intercepted Pierre during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 404, from Abuja to the Middle East via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He added that the illicit drug was recovered after a thorough search of his luggage and he was subsequently arrested.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that the suspect arrived in Lagos through Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Saturday, August 19, came to Abuja on Tuesday, August 22, and took possession of the brown bag containing the drug consignment on Wednesday, August 23, before heading to the Abuja airport for his flight out of Nigeria.
“Meanwhile, NDLEA officers in Gombe state on patrol, along Darazo road on Monday, 21st August, recovered an abandoned Volkswagen Sharon vehicle marked GME 76 XD containing a total of 373,420 pills of opioids including tramadol and diazepam.
“In the same vein, operatives in Ogun state, on Wednesday, 23rd August raided the home of a drug dealer, Ifeanyi Orji, in the Ibafo area of the state where 81,000 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 32.4kgs were recovered.
“In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, 22nd August, recovered 60,000 pills of tramadol from a suspect, Ibrahim Abba, 25, who was travelling in a commercial Toyota Starlet car from Kalaa village to Mubi.
“Equally, in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, operatives intercepted two consignments of skunk with a gross weight of 1,242.1 kgs. The first consignment of 665.1kgs was seized from a truck around Area 3 on Sunday, 20th August, while the second one weighing 577kgs was recovered during a stop and search operation along Lokoja- Abaji expressway the same day.”
