NDLEA Intercepts Cocaine Hidden in UK-Bound Food Flasks
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 12 large parcels of cocaine concealed in the false bottoms of food flasks meant for shipment to the United Kingdom from Lagos.
Femi Babafemi, spokesperson of the agency, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. He said the seizure was made on Thursday at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, where the consignment was scheduled to be transported on a Virgin Atlantic flight.
According to Babafemi, the cocaine weighed 2.80 kilograms. Two cargo agents allegedly linked to the attempted export, Ama Obinna Ufeim, 33, and Ogabi Monday Akorede, 39, were arrested at the scene.
He added that further investigations led operatives to a 52-year-old freight forwarding agent, Agoro Tajudeen Moninuola, identified as the sender of the consignment. He was later apprehended in a follow-up operation.
In a separate operation at the airport’s import shed, NDLEA officers also intercepted 2.90 kilograms of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis. The drugs were hidden inside snack packs and had arrived from the United States aboard a Delta Airlines flight.
Babafemi said two cargo clearing agents, Animashaun Moshood Adetunji and Mercy Gabriel Oluwasegun, were initially arrested in connection with the seizure. Investigations later led to the arrest of the consignee, Saheed Adeshina Adegoke, a 29-year-old fashion designer, at 3 Oba Ogunji Road, Ogba, Lagos, on Monday, April 13.
The agency further reported additional seizures of skunk, cannabis and tramadol in Kaduna, Cross River, Edo and Lagos states, resulting in the arrest of seven suspects.
Babafemi added that the NDLEA also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign during the past week, carrying out awareness programmes in schools, places of worship, workplaces and communities nationwide.