Drugs suspected heading to Boko Haram/Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) enclaves in Borno State have been intercepted by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Lagos.
A statement on Saturday by the spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi said a total of 34,950 capsules of Tramadol and Diazepam suspected to be heading to insurgents’ camps in Borno state have been intercepted and seized by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in Lagos.
Babafemi said a 25-year-old Mohammed Isah, recruited to move the drugs from Lagos to Borno was arrested on Tuesday 1st June, 2021 at SD Motors park, Agege, Lagos with 12,390 capsules of Tramadol weighing 4.8 kilogrammes and 22,560 tablets of Diazepam with a total weight of 14 kilogrammes, both weights totaling 18.8 kilogrammes.
He said that under interrogation, the suspect who hails from Mandara Mountain, Ashgashia, in Gwoza local government area of Borno State, revealed that he came to Lagos in 2013 and started life with riding commercial motorcycle (Okada), then tricycle (Keke Marwa) and currently drives township bus from Ikeja to Ojota.
According to him, on Friday, 28th May, one Kakali Abubakar who also hails from Mandara Mountain invited him to see him at Ezekiel Street, Ikeja, where he gave him the assignment of transporting the drugs to Maiduguri for a fee of N50,000, which he accepted. He said Kakali advised him to either board a Tanker or Trailer from Lagos to Maiduguri to avoid being caught.
A suggestion which he agreed to, but rather chose to travel in a bus operated by SD Motors from Lagos to Kano and would have taken another vehicle to Maiduguri.
The suspect claims he accepted the offer because of the monetary benefit due to pressure on his finances as his wife and three children displaced by Boko Haram activities are currently in a refugee camp in Maiduguri.
Babafemi said investigations revealed that before Mohammed’s arrest, Kakali the accused owner of the drug had travelled out of Lagos to Maiduguri to await the arrival of the consignment.
Reacting to the clampdown, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Retd) commended the officers and men of the Lagos state Command of the agency for their vigilance and blocking such volume of drugs from getting to Borno state, which is currently the hotbed of insurgents’ activities in the country.
He asked them to remain proactive and committed to the agency’s common goal.
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