Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended an automobile spare parts dealer, Ejiofor Chiwuzie, over an attempt to export consignments of heroin and loud—a potent strain of cannabis—out of Lagos.
The arrest was made in connection with drug shipments intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
In a statement issued on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi disclosed that the illicit substances were cleverly hidden inside LED rechargeable lamps and metal sofa legs in the cargo intended for export through the airport’s export shed.
Mr. Ejiofor was taken into custody on Tuesday, September 24, at the Trade Fair complex in Ojo, Lagos, where he operates an automobile spare parts business. His arrest followed the seizure of a shipment, allegedly bound for Liberia, containing auto parts, electronics, and rechargeable lamps. Upon further inspection, NDLEA agents discovered drugs concealed in the LED lamps and sofa legs.
“Concealed inside the LED lamps and sofa legs were 37 parcels of heroin weighing 1.10 kilograms and four blocks of *loud* with a total weight of 1.20 kilograms,” Mr. Babafemi stated. A swift follow-up operation led to the arrest of two freight agents, after which Mr. Ejiofor, identified as the sender of the consignment, was also arrested.
In addition to this case, the NDLEA successfully thwarted several other attempts by drug trafficking syndicates to export consignments of loud, tramadol, co-codamol tablets, pentazocine injection, dihydrocodeine, and promethazine through various courier companies. These drugs were destined for countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Thailand, and Oman.
According to Mr. Babafemi, the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation (DOGI), a special unit within the NDLEA, intercepted the shipments at the logistics firms. “While 2.3 kilograms of loud hidden in a carton was destined for Thailand, 749 grams of tramadol were concealed in soles of locally made footwear headed to Oman, along with 60 ampoules of pentazocine injection going to the United States,” he noted.
Further details revealed that 200 co-codamol pills were meant for shipment to Australia, while 700 tablets of dihydrocodeine, promethazine, and tramadol, along with 20 ampoules of pentazocine, were concealed in footwear and intended for the United Kingdom. A separate shipment destined for Canada contained 58 ampoules of pentazocine injection hidden in female clothing.
“All these seizures in the courier companies were made between Monday, September 23, and Tuesday, September 24, in Lagos,” Mr. Babafemi confirmed. The NDLEA continues to intensify efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks both domestically and internationally.
