34 year-old South American arrested by the NDLEA
Photo: NDLEA
A 34-year-old South American man from Suriname, Dadda Lorenzo Harvy Albert, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers state for bringing into Nigeria 117 parcels of cocaine concealed in extra-large latex condoms factory packed inside bottles of 100ml body spray.
In a statement, the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi said, the suspect claimed to have entered Nigeria in search of his long-lost Nigerian father whom he called Omini
Giving a breakdown of arrests and seizures, he said, NDLEA officers at Tincan seaport in Lagos intercepted 110 parcels of Colorado, a strain of cannabis, weighing 55kg hidden in a container marked MSCU 4972769 from Toronto via Montreal, Canada.
The illicit consignment according to him, was discovered in the container bearing five units of used vehicles, during a joint examination of the cargo by NDLEA and other port stakeholders.
The seizure was part of a total of 1,559.3 kilograms (1.5 tons) of the psychoactive substance seized during interdiction operations in five states in the past week.
“While two suspects: Nura Ibrahim, 40, and Habibu Sadiq, 38, were arrested with 120 blocks of cannabis weighing 148.7kg along Zaria-Kano road, Kano on Sunday 2nd April, not less than 418.5kg of the same substance and a sienna space bus used in conveying it were recovered on Thursday 6th April at a notorious drug hub, Patey, Lagos Island”.
A suspect, Azi Solomon was arrested same day at Ojota garage while attempting to move 23kg cannabis to another state.
In Imo, NDLEA operatives on routine patrol along Owerri-Onitsha expressway intercepted a commercial bus from which a total of 37, 210 pills of opioids and 30 bottles of codeine syrup were recovered and three suspects arrested in follow up operations.
The Sokoto state command of the Agency also received 667.6kg cannabis seized by men of the Customs Service along Illela-Niger Republic border.
Witing by Nosa Aituamen; Editing by Oluwaaseyi Ajibade and Julian Osamoto