Auto Parts Vendor, Entrepreneur Detained For Smuggling Opioids And Cocaine Hidden In Custard To The UK

Auto Parts Vendor, Entrepreneur Detained For Smuggling Opioids And Cocaine Hidden In Custard To The UK

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of two individuals in connection with drug trafficking. Mrs. Adewunmi Adebola Dorcas, a businesswoman from Ibadan, Oyo State, and Arinze Ora, an auto parts dealer, were apprehended for attempting to export opioids and cocaine.

On September 6, 2024, NDLEA officers intercepted a shipment at the export shed of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, destined for the United Kingdom. The cargo, concealed in cartons of foodstuffs, contained 924 bottles of codeine-based syrup (weighing 135.70 kg) and 5,250 tablets of Rohypnol.

Femi Babafemi, Director of Media & Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja, revealed that freight agent Owojori Olanrewaju Sunday, who presented the cargo, was arrested. Further investigation led to the arrest of Adewunmi Akeem Temitope, who admitted that his mother, Mrs. Adewunmi Adebola Dorcas, sent the shipment from Ibadan.

A follow-up operation on September 7 resulted in Mrs. Adewunmi’s arrest in Ibadan, where she is involved in foodstuffs and cargo export. Babafemi noted that Owojori confessed to working for Mrs. Adewunmi and was paid N2,411,000 for this shipment, with an additional N2.1 million for a previous consignment.

In a separate case, on September 11, NDLEA officers intercepted a shipment of auto spare parts and Checker Powder Custard destined for Congo Brazzaville on Ethiopian Airlines. A search revealed 300 grams of cocaine hidden within the custard containers. The sender, Arinze Ora, an auto parts dealer from Lagos, was subsequently arrested.

Additionally, on September 10, NDLEA operatives arrested two brothers, Ikechukwu Ikeabba and Ugochukwu Ikeabba, who were identified as sponsors of drug traffickers exporting drugs to Vietnam. This followed the earlier arrest of Ibeanusi Solomon Nosike, who was found with 68 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.282 kilograms after 12 days of excretion observation.

Another Vietnam-bound businessman, Paul Okwuy Mbadugha, was arrested on August 12, 2024, at the Abuja airport after testing positive for cocaine ingestion. He was found to have ingested 88 wraps of the drug, weighing 1.710 kilograms.

In further operations, NDLEA arrested suspects in various states. On September 14, three individuals in Gombe State were caught with 2,490,000 pills of tramadol concealed in salt bags. In Kaduna, Idris Adamu was arrested with 41.5 kilograms of cannabis sativa on September 10. In Ekiti State, Godiya Sekyen Jikuk and Yusuf Umaru were found with 73.6 kg of cannabis on September 11. In Bauchi State, Chinedu Asadu was arrested with 208,920 pills of tramadol and diazepam on September 13. Lastly, in Lagos, 104 kg of cannabis was seized from two suspects along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on September 10.

The NDLEA also discovered 350,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup from two containers shipped from India during a joint inspection with Customs and other security agencies at Tincan Port in Lagos on September 10.

NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the agency’s officers for their successful operations and urged them to continue their efforts in drug supply and demand reduction.