NDLEA arrests 80-year-old grandpa with 14kg Indian Hemp

Abuja, Sept. 22, 2024 – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Aremu Shojobi, an 80-year-old grandfather, for being in possession of 14 kilograms of Indian Hemp.

 Shojobi, who said the drugs were sourced from Benin Republic, confessed to selling illicit drugs in the last 25 years.

Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA Spokesman, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

He said: “Operatives of the Lagos State Strategic Command of the agency arrested an 80-year-old grandfather, Pa Aremu Shojobi, with 14 kilograms of cannabis at his home in the Iyana Ipaja area of the state on Friday, 20th September.

“In his statement, the octogenarian claimed he had been in the business of selling illicit drugs for 25 years.

“He further claimed he sourced his supplies from Benin Republic and sold to his customers from his residence between 7 am and 10 pm every day.”

Babafemi also said a total of 25 million pills of tapentadol, an opioid three times stronger than tramadol, and 350,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup were recovered at the Tincan port complex in Lagos.

He said the seizures were made on Sept. 17 and Sept. 20, 2024 from three containers that had been on the agency’s watchlist following processed intelligence.

“As a result, the NDLEA requested a 100% joint examination of the shipments with officers from the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.

The 25 million pills of tapentadol have an estimated street value of N13,725,000,000, while the codeine consignment has an estimated street value of N2,450,000,000, bringing the total value of the seizures to N14,950,000,000.

“The tapentadol consignment, packed in 500 cartons, was discovered in one of the containers on Tuesday, 17th September, while another container examined the same day contained 175,000 bottles of Barcadin cough syrup with codeine packed in 875 cartons.

The third container, containing 175,000 bottles of CSC cough syrup with codeine, was examined on Friday, 20th September,” the statement added.

NDLEA operatives in Lagos, also raided the homes of community leader and Sarkin Yamma of Badagry West LCDA, Alhaji Bashir Mohammed Talba, where a total of 226 kg of cannabis was recovered from his two wives and son on Sept. 18, 2024.

Babafemi said although Alhaji Talba was currently at large, a search of his house in the Ashipa area of Seme Badagry led to the recovery of 93 compressed blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 57.6 kg from his first wife, Asma’u Bashiru, aged 35, and son, Sadat Bashiru, aged 22.

Another search of his house in the Aketegbo area of Seme Badagry resulted in the seizure of 302 compressed blocks of cannabis weighing 168.6 kg from his second wife, Hauwa Bashir, aged 42.

“No less than 720 blocks of Arizona, a strain of cannabis weighing 390 kg, were also recovered from a Mitsubishi delivery van marked MUS 720 XH in the Ojo area of Lagos on Monday, 16th September,” he added.

Babafemi said the NDLEA operatives at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, also arrested a 38-year-old drug mule, Okafor Ifeanyi Anthony, on Sept.15, while attempting to board a Qatar Airlines flight to Iran via Doha with 76 wraps of cocaine in his stomach.

“After three days of observation, Okafor excreted the 76 pellets of ingested cocaine, weighing 1.267 kg.

In Kogi State, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway on Tuesday, Sept. 17, recovered 700,000 pills of exol-5 coming from Lagos for distribution in Kano and Kaduna.

A suspect, Udemefuna Chibuike, aged 23, was arrested by operatives on Friday, Sept. 20 along Mokwa-Jebba road, Niger State, in possession of 49,000 tablets of tramadol, 20,000 tablets of diazepam, 100 ampoules of tramadol injection, and 50 bottles of cough syrup with codeine,” Babafemi added.

 “A total of 451 blocks of cannabis weighing 213 kg were also intercepted along Azikiwe Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday, Sept. 18 by NDLEA officers who apprehended a suspect, Ogochukwu Paul, aged 33, conveying the consignment to a notorious drug haven in Borikiri.

NDLEA operatives in Plateau State on Friday, Sept  20, arrested a wanted suspect, Jonathan Ali Abuttur, aged 46, on Agingi-Rukuba Road, Bassa LGA, in possession of 808 kg of cannabis sativa concealed in 68 bags of sugar and fertiliser.   (GBN)