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By Gbenga Kayode.
(C) Grandfetch.
When 72-year-old Christy Ejaro shuffled out of her modest compound at the Niger CAT area of Warri, Delta state on Tuesday, June 24, few could have imagined that her day would end in handcuffs. The frail Beninese grandmother, whose calm demeanor belied any hint of criminality, became one of the unlikely faces in Nigeria’s ongoing war against illicit drugs.
Our correspondent gathered that operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) raided her residence and reportedly recovered several sachets of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis,she allegedly packaged for retail.
Her arrest was part of a coordinated series of sting operations that unraveled a web of narcotic trafficking stretching from South America to Europe, West Africa, and deep into the heart of Nigeria.
What stunned many even further was that, on the same day, the agency apprehended former international footballer, Segun George Hunkarin, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The retired athlete was allegedly waiting in the car park to collect a consignment of cocaine from his associate, a regular Turkish trader named Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu.
Sources said that Hunkarin, once celebrated on Brazilian football fields, had returned to Nigeria with more than medals in his luggage.
On Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, disclosed that the agency’s investigation revealed that Hunkarin had previously trafficked drugs from Brazil to Ethiopia but never directly into Nigeria until now.while Chinedu, his alleged partner, was intercepted upon arrival from Turkey via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
A search of his carry-on luggage reportedly uncovered 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grams. Officials stated he had received the package during his layover in Ethiopia before continuing to Nigeria, where Hunkarin awaited him,Babafemi added.
He further revealed that to elsewhere, on Friday, June 27, NDLEA operatives at Lagos Airport arrested Amen Okoro Godstime, a Europe-based businessman, while attempting to smuggle 5,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg disguised as malaria medication.
Godstime, who claimed to be involved in freight and logistics, planned to carry the pills to Spain, board a train to France, where he lives and then send the contraband to Italy.
In another development, operatives at Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, intercepted Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, a 38-year-old bar attendant based in Mozambique.
He was caught with 17.5 kg of methamphetamine and 3.05 kg of cocaine, concealed in cardboard and bedsheets. He had flown in from Johannesburg via Ethiopia.
Also on the same flight, NDLEA arrested Azu Follygan Kpodar, 54, who had arrived from São Paulo, Brazil.
The NDLEA’S spokesperson said upon inspection, a liquid soap container in his bag was found to contain 1.25 kg of liquid cocaine, which the toy merchant claimed he bought while shopping for his upcoming wedding.
The agency’s reach extended to the nation’s borders and interior states. At Seme Border in Lagos, a 26-year-old Beninese national, Vode Jean-Luck, was caught attempting to smuggle 69 balls of skunk (29.5 kg) into Nigeria.
In Omu-Aran, Kwara State, the NDLEA raided the home of a notorious dealer, Mary Bolanle Oladele, popularly known as “Iya Nafi.” where various quantities of skunk, Tramadol, and Flunitrazepam were seized, according to the agency.
Source: Consumer Connectm
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
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