Metro

NDLEA Arrests Three Blind Men Over Drug Trafficking, Seizes Narcotics Worth N13bn

Published

2 years ago

November 5, 2023

The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested 10 suspects including three blind men for alleged drug trafficking, while about N13 billion illicit drugs were seized from them.

The agency’s Director for Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi revealed this in a statement released on Sunday, following the operations at three different locations in Lagos.

It said, “No less than fourteen million, four hundred and eighty-one thousand, five hundred and nineteen (14, 481, 519) pills of Tramadol and bottles of codeine syrup worth over thirteen billion naira (N13,000,000,000) in street value have been recovered by operatives of the National Drug Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in three major busts of drug cartels operating in Amuwo Odofin, Idumota and the SAHCO shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos.

“The three intelligence-led operations began with the raid of House 8/10 Hon. Wahuha Avenue, Divine Estate, Ago Palace area of Amuwo Odofin on Sunday 29th October, where 490,000 pills of tramadol and 81,519 bottles of codeine syrup measuring 4, 510, 000mls were recovered.

“In a similar operation on Tuesday 31st October, NDLEA operatives swooped on a secret warehouse operated by a billionaire Idumota trader, Nwaoha Anayo located at Onitire, Aguda area of Surulere where Twelve Million Seven Hundred Thousand (12, 700, 000) pills of tramadol were recovered.

“In the same vein, at least six members of a syndicate using their official cover to facilitate the smuggling of illicit drugs through the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) warehouse at the Lagos airport into the country have been arrested and One Million Two Hundred and Ten Thousand (1, 210, 000) pills of tramadol seized from them in a painstaking operation that lasted for weeks.”

Speaking about the suspects, it said, “The six suspects already in NDLEA custody include: Oladele Sanya-Olu; Lawal Itunu Temitope; Sanamo Alla Daniel; Udeh Felix Monday; Musa Mutalib and Unege Evans Icibor, while three other suspects: Sarki Mubarak Salami; Abdullahi Aliyu (aka Aboki); and Monday Anwal, are now on the run and wanted by NDLEA.

“At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja, NDLEA operatives on Sunday 29th October intercepted yet another businessman, 50-year-old Nwokolo Ifeanyi Anthony during the outward clearance of Air France flight AF 878 to Amsterdam, Netherlands via Paris, France at the boarding gate and was body scanned. The result turned out to be positive for illicit drug ingestion.

“The suspect who travelled from Lagos to board the flight was subsequently kept under observation for some days during which he excreted a total of 86 pellets of heroin weighing 1.330 kilograms.

“Similarly, NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, DOGI, attached to courier firms on Monday 30th October intercepted 22 parcels of cocaine concealed in the walls of a carton containing sewn local fabrics popularly called Aso Oke, heading to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.”

It disclosed that the three blind men were arrested in Lagos and Kano states, while another visually impaired is still at large.

“Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives have arrested three blind men operating an illicit drug ring between Lagos and Kano, while another blind member of the syndicate is still at large. The lid was blown off the group following the arrest of a blind suspect, Adamu Hassan, 40, along Gwagwalada expressway Abuja with 12kgs of skunk on his way from Lagos to Kano on Saturday 28th October. Investigations however established that he was totally oblivious of the content of the bag handed to him to deliver in Kano.

“Follow-up operations then led to the arrest of the arrowhead of the syndicate, Bello Abubakar, 45, who is also blind. In his statement, Bello who is married with five children said he has been living in Lagos for 30 years but started the illicit drug business five years ago.

“Another suspect, Muktar Abubakar, 59, who is equally blind has been living in Lagos for 40 years and married to three wives with 14 children. Both Muktar Abubakar and Bello Abubakar are joint owners of the business, while the third suspect, Akilu Amadu, 25, also blind equally contributes money to the criminal trade and was indeed the one who delivered the consignment to Adamu at the motor park in Lagos to deliver in Kano. Another blind suspect who is the expected receiver of the consignment in Kano, Mallam Aminu is currently at large.

“While operatives in Osun on Saturday 4th November stormed the Obada sawmill forest in Owena-Ijesa, Oriade LGA where they arrested a suspect, Monday Sylvester, 37, on a 6.01 hectares of cannabis farm which was destroyed and 489.8kgs already processed plant recovered, their colleagues in Edo raided a trans-loading point inside Avbiosi forest, Owan West LGA where 603 kilograms of the illicit substance were seized.

“Also, NDLEA officers in Ogun state on Friday 3rd November recovered a Toyota Sienna bus from a ditch, at Ajebo Area, along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. A search of the vehicle led to the seizure of 460kgs of the same substance, while a total of 116.5kgs of cannabis sativa belonging to a suspect at large were seized at Olagunju, Mushin area of Lagos.

“The Commands and formations of the Agency continued their war against drug abuse, WADA, advocacy lectures across the country. Some of the sensitization lectures in the past week were organized by: Zone N command of NDLEA in collaboration with the Akwa Ibom state command for principals of secondary schools in the state; Kano state command at Government Science and Technical College, Wudil; Gombe state command for students of Haruna Rasheed College of Health Sciences, Dukku; Anambra state command for students of Community Secondary School, Ezi-Awka; Zone I command in collaboration with Osun command of the Agency and the State Ministry of Education for over 320 secondary school principals in the state; Oyo State command at Anglican Grammar School, Starlight, Ogbomoso with 2,032 students in attendance and Ogun state command for students and staff of Gateway Junior Secondary School, Abeokuta.

“While commending the officers and men of the NAIA, MMIA, Lagos, Osun, Edo and FCT Commands as well as those of DOGI for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) charged them and their compatriots across the country to remain focused as the Agency expands its operations against drug cartels.”

Metro

Alleged Organ Harvesting: Bereaved Families Rush To Check Corpses

Published

2 days ago

December 18, 2025

Editor

Families who deposited their deceased relations at the Aigbe Mortuary, Akugbe Street, off Upper Sakponba Road, Benin City, have since Monday been besieging the facility to ascertain the condition of their loved ones.

This followed the discovery of an alleged case of organ harvesting at the mortuary.

A mortuary attendant was arrested by operatives of the Edo State Police Command as a result of the incident.

A visit to the hospital, which operates the mortuary and serves the densely populated Upper Sakponba area, revealed that some family members were present to check the condition of the corpses they deposited, while others made frantic efforts to transfer their deceased relatives to other mortuaries.

Osariemen Desmond who happens to be one of the persons who were at mortuary said his late mother’s corpse was deposited at the mortuary, adding that he was there to ensure nothing had happened to her remains, as the family plans to bury her next year.

“I am here because of the story we heard about organ harvesting last Friday. I just want to be sure that my mother’s corpse is safe. Many people have been coming since Monday to transfer the corpses of their deceased family members to other mortuaries, while others just came to be sure that nothing has happened to the corpses they deposited. But for me, I am here to be sure that my mum’s corpse is intact,” he said.

However, a member of staff of the hospital, who declined to have his name in print, said the mortuary had never been involved in organ harvesting.

He explained that the deceased whose corpse was allegedly tampered with had died as a result of poisoning, which may have affected his internal organs.

“There is nothing like organ harvesting here. The man in question died from poisoning, and that may have affected his internal organs,” he said.

However, the Edo State Police Command, in a statement released by its Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eno Ikoedem, said the Command had launched an investigation into the matter and would ensure that anyone found guilty faces the full weight of the law.

She said: “The Edo State Police Command has launched an intensive and far-reaching investigation into a disturbing allegation of unlawful tampering with a human corpse and theft of human parts at Akugbe Mortuary, located along Upper Sakponba Road, Benin City—an incident that sparked public outrage and nearly culminated in mob violence.

“On December 12, 2025, the Command received an urgent distress call indicating that a mortuary attendant was on the verge of being lynched by an irate crowd over allegations of organ harvesting. Acting with swift precision, the Divisional Police Officer, Ugbekun Division, immediately mobilised operatives to the scene and successfully rescued the suspect, thereby averting a breakdown of law and order.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that one Marvelous Odeh and others had visited the mortuary to claim the corpse of the late Uyi Enogieru for burial. However, upon completion of the required formalities, it was discovered that the corpse had been unlawfully interfered with and that some body parts were missing, prompting a report to the Police.

“The suspect has since been taken into custody and, on the directive of the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, CP Monday Agbonika, fdc, the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for a thorough, professional, and discreet investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

Metro

Suspected Kidnappers Abduct 18 Passengers On Benin-Akure Road

Published

4 days ago

December 15, 2025

Editor

Kidnappers have abducted 18 passengers along the Benin-Akure highway, near Obarenren village, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.

The kidnappers were said to have fired sporadically before taking their victims into the bush.

Edo State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Eno Ikoedem, confirmed the incident in Benin on Monday.

Ikoedem, while stating that a joint security operation had launched a manhunt for the abductors, added that a “massive bush combing led to the rescue of 11 victims.”

The PPRO, who said efforts were on to rescue other victims, noted: “The incident happened last Saturday. The passengers were in a 18-seater Big Joe bus. We have been combing the bush in collaboration with the Nigerian Army.

“No Arrest has been made yet.”

Metro

NDLEA Seizes 457kg of Cannabis, Arrests Suspected Trafficker In Edo

Published

4 days ago

December 15, 2025

Editor

Photo: file copy

Operatives the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Edo State Command, have arrested a 44-year-old suspected drug trafficker, Ohiomah Igbafe, at Uroe community in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State.

The command also seized 457 kilograms of skunk cannabis concealed at the suspect’s hideout
in the operation that took place on December 9, 2025,

The State Commander of the anti-narcotic agency, Mitchell Ofoyeju, who disclosed this in a press statement said: “The suspect was found in possession of 15 bags of cannabis sativa weighing a total of 457 kilograms, in addition to a separate sack containing four kilograms of cannabis seeds.”

He described the arrest as a significant milestone in the agency’s ongoing campaign against drug trafficking in the state.

He said: “The operation reflects our undying commitment to the eradication of drug trafficking within Edo State. The quantity of illegal drugs seized in this raid represents a serious threat to public health and safety. This level of success encourages us to continue to confront drug cartels relentlessly.”

He added that the agency would not relent in its efforts to dismantle criminal drug networks, warning that offenders would be pursued without mercy.

“We want to send a clear message that drug traffickers and their collaborators have no safe harbour in Edo State.”