NDLEA arrests motivational speaker over huge illicit drug shipments

NDLEA arrests motivational speaker over huge illicit drug shipments

The NDLEA operatives on Friday December 27, 2024 arrested a motivational speaker, Emeka Emmanuel Mbadiwe.

Mr Mbadiwe, who is also a US-trained Hollywood and Nollywood filmmaker, was arrested in his Lekki Hotel room, following the arrest of his partner, Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James, earlier same day at a warehouse in Ajao estate Ikeja, where he was sent by Mr Mbadiwe to collect a shipment of 33 parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 17.30 kilograms.

The shipment arrived at the Import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja on December 24, 2024 from the United States on a Delta Airline flight, concealed in large wooden boxes.

In other operations in December 2024, NDLEA operatives at the export shed of the Lagos airport intercepted no fewer than 52 passports of different countries from shipments going to Canada, Russia, and other countries concealed in shoe soles and food items.

Further investigations led to the arrest of four members of three syndicates involved in the racket.

The arrested suspects include: Sodade Sunday Eniola; Ayinde Saheed Awwal; Salaudeen Afeez Ayode; and Sheriff Adebayo Bamigbade. Both the exhibits and the suspects were on Monday 30th December 2024 handed over to the Zonal Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service in Lagos for further investigation and possible prosecution.

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Not less than 316, 800 bottles of codeine-based syrup were recovered from two containers by NDLEA officers at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne Rivers state during a joint examination of the shipments with men of Nigeria Customs and other security agencies on Tuesday 31st December 2024. The seizure followed credible intelligence processed by the Port Harcourt Port Command of the Agency.

In Kano, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday 31st December 2024 raided Mafarki, Dan Dishe area of Dala LG where they recovered 149, 090 pills of tramadol and exol-5 from a local dealer, 45-year-old Ismail Muhammad.

With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA sensitisation lecture to traders at Ido-Osi Central Market, Ido Ekiti, Ekiti state; and Muslim faithful during their Juma’at prayer at Birnin Kudu central mosque, Jigawa state, among others.

While commending the officers and men of MMIA, Lagos, Kano, PHPC and Kwara Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, chairman of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.

 

NDLEA arrests motivational speaker over huge illicit drug shipments