NDLEA Records Largest Seizure of Illicit Drug at Lagos Airport, 4 Suspects Arrested

• At least four drug syndicates have been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Lagos state
• The suspects were arrested at the Murtala International Airport in Lagos state by operatives of the NDLEA
• It was gathered that the drug burst was the highest ever made by the law enforcement agency

Legit.ng journalist Segun Adeyemi has over 9 years of experience covering political events, civil societies, courts, and metro

Ikeja, Lagos - The NDLEA has announced the successful dismantling of an organised criminal group specializing in trafficking heroin across multiple countries.

Following a 12-day operation, they arrested members of the group and seized the largest-ever consignment of heroin at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, shared details of the operation during a press conference in Lagos, emphasising the agency's commitment to transparency in combating drug trafficking.

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According to Marwa:

“This syndicate has a wide network in Nigeria because the consignments we seized were marked with several codenames, showing that they belonged to different members of this organised criminal group.

"Furthermore, in our follow-up operation, we uncovered from the suspect a long list of receivers of illicit drugs. In the end, we were able to identify the kingpin of the syndicate here in Nigeria, Reginald Peter Chidiebere.

"Our investigations showed that he owns the Golden Platinum Hotel and Suite, located at 16 Reginald Peter Chidiebere Street, Hope Estate, Ago Palace.”

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He elaborated that proactive measures taken against individuals involved in the syndicate include suspending 107 bank accounts belonging to 14 cartel members and discovering N119,582,928.31 in certain identified bank accounts.

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Furthermore, he stated that the hotel and a residence associated with the leader of the syndicate in Nigeria, Reginald Peter Chidiebere, as well as another residence connected to the syndicate leader in Mozambique, Festus Ibewuike, situated in the Ago Palace area, have been earmarked for confiscation by the Federal Government.

He stated that the action resulted in additional success on February 22nd, when Mrs Confidence Ndidiamaka, a woman belonging to the group and the wife of Festus Ibewuike, was apprehended in the Ago Palace area.

Ibewuike was identified as one of the individuals scheduled to receive a portion of the shipment from Adinnu Felix Chinedu.

We’ll not rest until syndicates are brought to book- Marwa

Marwa praised the collaboration and assistance the NDLEA receives from various partners such as Customs, the military, Immigration, Police, DSS, NSCDC, FRSC, NAFDAC, Aviation Security (AVSEC), the media, and international allies.

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He emphasised that the Agency remains committed to its aggressive efforts against drug kingpins and their associates.

75-year-old grandma arrested for dealing in illicit drugs in Lagos

Similarly, a 75-year-old woman, Mrs Sekinat Soremekun, was arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Lagos for dealing in illicit drugs.

Mrs Soremekun claimed her son supplied her with the substances, and the NDLEA stated that the son, Segun, is currently evading arrest.

In a separate incident in Imo, NDLEA operatives intercepted a consignment of 2.287kg cocaine concealed in cellophane condoms along the Owerri-Onitsha expressway.

Source: Legit.ng