Crime
PHOTOS: NDLEA arrests wanted drug kingpin with 11.6kg cocaine, meth
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested a wanted 60-year-old drug kingpin, Okpara Paul Chigozie, ending seven years of evading the long arm of the law.
NDLEA said the suspect was caught attempting to ship large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine to the Southeast and other parts of the country.
This was made known in a statement by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja.
Babafemi disclosed that Okpara, who has been on the wanted list of NDLEA since 2019, was eventually nabbed at his hideout at 72 Michael Ojo Street, Isheri in the Ojo area of Lagos State on Sunday last week following the interception of some of his consignments at Ilasamaja along Apapa-Oshodi expressway.
In the early morning operation, a team of NDLEA officers, acting on credible intelligence, arrested one of Okpara’s couriers, 51-year-old Achebe Kenneth Nnamdi, while heading to Onitsha, Anambra State, in a white Toyota Sienna vehicle.
The agency’s sniffer dogs were subsequently brought in to search the vehicle, after which 7.6 kilograms of cocaine and 900 grams of methamphetamine were found hidden in body compartments of the space bus.
A follow-up operation was promptly carried out at Okpara’s hideout in Isheri, where additional 1.8kg of cocaine and 1.3kg of methamphetamine were recovered from his residence.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos, NDLEA operatives, in a joint operation with Aviation Security personnel of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), on Wednesday, 16th July, recovered 7,790 pills of tramadol and rohypnol from the luggage of an Italy-bound passenger, Omoregie Nice Uyiosa.
The suspect, who was going to Italy via Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight, claimed he purchased the drugs himself, hoping to sell them in Italy at higher prices.
In another arrest at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives at the export shed on Thursday, 17th July, intercepted 17 parcels of skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing 1.70kg concealed in packs of popular cereal, Golden Morn, going to Pakistan as part of a consolidated cargo.
A suspect, Chioba Robert Uchenna, who presented the consignment for shipment, was arrested.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives, on Saturday, 19th July, raided Sarah Sam Hotels located at 115 Ogudu Road in Kosofe, where different party drugs are being distributed and sold.
The raid followed credible intelligence and surveillance, which confirmed a suspect, Obayemi Oyetade, as the arrowhead of the drug network. At the time of the operation, 1.30kg of chocolate cannabis, 900 grams of gummies, and 22.9 grams of skunk were recovered from Obayemi’s room in the hotel, which is a 20-room facility run as a family business, housing his mother and siblings.
Other items recovered from the hotel include three vehicles.
Three suspects, Onyeka Madu, Monday Nwadishi, and Emmanuel Madu—were, on Saturday, 19th July, arrested during an intelligence-led raid at Narayi High Cost area of Chikun LGA, Kaduna State, where 742.866 kilograms of skunk and Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, were seized from them.
In Kano, Lawan Rabiu was nabbed with 36,000 pills of tramadol along Danbatta-Kazaure road on Wednesday, 16th July.
While a total of 25,000 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 were recovered from a suspect, Aliyu Abubakar, at Gombe roundabout on Friday, 18th July, the duo of Mohammed Adamu and Furaira Idris were arrested the same day with 49 blocks of compressed skunk that weighed 29kg at Kwadom, Yemaltu Deba LGA, Gombe State.
In Borno, NDLEA officers on patrol along Baga Road, Maiduguri, on Saturday, 19th July, intercepted 74,360 pills of opioids in a Mercedes Benz C180 car marked GUB 409 AA and arrested Audu Modu, 44, in connection with the seizure, while in Bayelsa State, a 63-year-old grandma, Akuna Nelson, was on Thursday, 17th July, arrested at Osiri area of Yenagoa in connection with the seizure of 163 litres of skuchies.
Four suspects, Ikechukwu Abugu, 42; Sunday Ani, 18; Chukwu Christian, 46; and Emmanuel Olisakwe, 55, were, on Thursday, 17th July, arrested by NDLEA operatives along Okene-Lokoja highway, Kogi State, in connection with the seizure of 2kg of methamphetamine recovered during a search of their vehicle coming from Onitsha, Anambra State to Minna, Niger State.
In Abia State, NDLEA officers, on Monday, 14th July, raided the base of a notorious drug dealer, Nduka Obi, 39, at 4 Niger Street, Ugwa Road, Aba, where various quantities of tramadol, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and a total of N736,000 monetary exhibit were recovered from him.
While a total of 45,000 pills of tramadol were seized from a suspect, Chisom Okpalaeke, 30, by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Onitsha – Enugu expressway, Enugu State, on Wednesday, 16th July, officers of the Taraba State Command of the agency, the same day, apprehended the duo of Ngwokwoka Thomas, 44, and Mohammed Audu, 44, with 10,000 caps of tramadol and a gram of cannabis at Dan Anacha, Gassol LGA.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of MMIA, SOU, Lagos, Kaduna, Osun, Bayelsa, Gombe, Borno, Abia, Kogi, Enugu, and Taraba Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week.
Marwa also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for intensifying a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
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Barely three years after he was arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for dealing in illicit drugs, an 80-year-old man, Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta, has again been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for returning to the criminal trade.
Nkanta, described by the agency as a notorious drug dealer, was first arrested by NDLEA operatives on December 14, 2022, and subsequently prosecuted and convicted by a Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, where he was sentenced to two years in prison.
However, findings revealed that the octogenarian, who appeared unrepentant after serving his jail term, returned to the illicit drug business.
Following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, January 10, 2025, tracked him to his residence in Mmanta–Abak village, Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
A search of his house led to the recovery of 5.7 kilogrammes of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, concealed within the premises.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the agency also disclosed that its operatives recorded another major breakthrough in Akwa Ibom State with the arrest of a suspected drug trafficker using mannequins to conceal opioids.
Babafemi said NDLEA officers on patrol along the Oron–Ibaka Road in Oron Local Government Area intercepted a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans, on Friday, January 9, while he was travelling with full-body mannequins meant for his clothing business in Cameroon.
A thorough search of the mannequins, however, revealed that they were stuffed with 5.3 kilogrammes of tramadol pills.
According to the suspect, who claimed to reside in Cameroon, he was returning to his base after the Christmas and New Year holidays when he was apprehended.
Investigations further revealed that the drugs were purchased in Onitsha, Anambra State, and were being trafficked to Cameroon for sale using the mannequins as concealment.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives carried out coordinated raids across several locations, leading to the arrest of notorious drug dealers and the seizure of large quantities of illicit substances.
Among those arrested was Remi Bamidele, 45, popularly known as Aluko the Mafia, who was apprehended at Sasa area of Ibadan on Thursday, January 8.
Recovered from him were 10.696 kilogrammes of Colorado, Scottish Loud, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud and skunk, all strains of cannabis. Two vehicles—a Toyota Venza and a Toyota Yaris with registration number HG 06 LYD-were also seized from him.
At the Adegbayi area of Ibadan, NDLEA officers arrested Adeola Toheeb, 27, on Friday, January 9, with various quantities of Colorado, Ghana Loud and skunk.
Similarly, Habeeb Ali, 29, was arrested at Ring Road, Ibadan, with 1.264kg of Colorado, Scottish Loud and skunk, alongside a cash exhibit of ₦1,307,100, recovered at the point of his arrest on Saturday, January 10.
Edo, Niger, Taraba, Adamawa busts
In Edo State, a dispatch rider, Osagbovo Edigin, 30, alongside Ebimi Labo, 28, and Akhimie Success, 25, were arrested on Friday, January 9, at Ihama/Airport Road GRA, Benin City.
The arrests followed the seizure of 118 grammes of Canadian Loud and a wrap of Colorado.
Also in Edo, Jimoh Agbonmhegbe, 49, was arrested at Irrua with 17.552kg of Colorado, Loud and skunk, while Evelyn Okoyomon, 38, was apprehended at Ubiaja with 930 grammes of skunk on Wednesday, January 7.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives recovered 4,000 pills of tramadol (225mg) from a 22-year-old suspect, Nazifi Umar, at Dakwa town, Tafa Local Government Area.
Similarly, in Taraba State, Yusuf Usman, 41, was arrested at Lankaviri, Yorro Local Government Area, with 100 blocks of skunk weighing 47kg.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers recovered 30,950 capsules of tramadol from the residence of Ugwoke Chibueze, 40, in Bachure area of Yola South Local Government Area, following his arrest at the Lamido Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, on Tuesday, January 6.
Babafemi added that the agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns across the country in the past week.
These included sensitisation lectures at Government Day Science and Technical College, Babura, Jigawa State; Abiayubal Ansari Islamiyya School, Fagge Local Government Area of Kano State; and among youths of Oshituma Umuogudu Akpu Ngbo in Ebonyi State, among others.
While commending officers and men of the Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Taraba, Edo, Oyo and Niger commands for their efforts, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised their operational successes.
He said their achievements, “especially the balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, are well appreciated.”
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Crime
PHOTOS: Nigerian man sentenced to d3ath in Malaysia for m8rder of his 4-year-old step-grandson
A Nigerian man has been sentenced to d3ath after being convicted of m8rdering his four-year-old step-grandson in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
LIB reported that Ibekwe Emeka Augustine threw the child from the third floor of an apartment building on Sunday, November 29, 2020 after he failed to rape his stepdaughter, who is the victim’s mother. Read other reports HERE and HERE
High Court judge K. Muniandy sentenced Ibekwe, 48, to d3ath on Friday, January 9, 2025 after finding him guilty of m8rder, ruling that the prosecution had proven the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
“You are sentenced to death by hanging until you are d3ad. However, you have the right to appeal against the sentence at the Court of Appeal,” the judge said.
Moments before the sentence was passed, Augustine, handcuffed and dressed in a white T-shirt and black trousers, pleaded for leniency.
“I regret everything that happened, and it will not happen again. I remember going swimming and playing football with him. Please have mercy on me. Everything is in your hands,” he said.
Augustine appeared solemn as he was led out of the courtroom. An interpreter was present throughout the proceedings.
He was charged in 2020 with m8rdering the boy between 7.45am and 8.15am at an apartment unit in Setapak on Nov 29, 2020, which carries the d3ath penalty or a jail term between 30 and 40 years upon conviction.
In addition to the m8rder conviction, Augustine was sentenced to one year for one count of attempted suicide, five years for s3xually assaulting his then 25-year-old stepdaughter, five years for attempted m8rder of his son, then aged 7; and 14 years for causing grievous hurt to his wife, then 48, who suffered a broken hip.
Muniandy ordered that all jail sentences run concurrently, which is 14-years, from Augustine’s arrest on Nov 29, 2020.
“All these inhumane and despicable acts of the accused could have been stopped as the accused’s wife attempted to do so, but the accused persisted even after grievously injuring her.
“The victims were all traumatised by the entire incident and had to run away from the home before anything more dreadful was inflicted on them.
“Then they found the grandchild dead on the ground as he was thrown away mercilessly by the accused, who then attempted suicide.
“Such conduct cannot be excused on the grounds of self-intoxication with drugs or his attempt to end his own life,” he said.
In mitigation, defence counsel Zulkifli Awang argued that his client should be spared the death penalty, saying the murder was not premeditated and that his client was not a hardened criminal incapable of rehabilitation.
“The facts show that his actions were due to schizophrenia and that he was of unsound mind, although the court had ruled that self-intoxication is not a defence.
“But I want to stress that what occurred was due to his insanity, due to drug consumption.
“He has been in remand since his arrest, and he is repentant. Imprisonment would be a more appropriate sentence. It is not necessary to take another life,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Zaileen Nadia Zubir urged the court to impose the death penalty, stating that Augustine had admitted to committing the acts due to prolonged consumption of drugs and not schizophrenia.
“He dangled the child by the leg outside the window before throwing him out, an act witnessed by the boy’s mother.
“He had admitted that it happened because of drugs and not because of schizophrenia, and he heard voices.
“He knew his actions were wrong and apologised,” she said.
The trial began in January 2024 and concluded in December the same year, with testimony from 22 prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses, who were Augustine himself and consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Ian Lloyd Anthony.
After the proceedings, Zulkifli said a notice of appeal against the d3ath sentence would be filed.
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