NLDEA bursts two drug trafficking syndicates, arrests six cartel leaders

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have smashed two major cross-border drug trafficking syndicates.

In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s spokesperson, said six leaders of the cartels were arrested in different parts of the country.

Babafemi said the syndicates comprise of Nigerians based in Mubi, Adamawa state; Onitsha in Anambra state, and Lagos state, as well as some Cameroonians.

The groups came under the NDLEA’s radar after they were suspected of being major suppliers of drugs to terror groups operating in Nigeria and Cameroon.

Leaders of the syndicates arrested include Ibrahim Bawuro, Najib Ibrahim, Ibrahim Umar, Nelson Udechukwu Anayo, Ezeh Amaechi Martin and Adejumo Ishola.

“Intelligence gathered revealed that some psychoactive substances, including tramadol, were often sourced by Ibrahim Bawuro and Ibrahim Najib from a notorious drug dealer in Onitsha (Nelson Udechukwu Anayo), and thereafter, packed and concealed in vehicles in the premises of Ezeh Amaechi Martin, an associate of Udechukwu,” the statement reads.

“The duo of Ibrahim Bawuro and Ibrahim Najib will, thereafter, transport the drugs from Onitsha to Yola, and subsequently to other parts of the North and Cameroon in specially constructed false compartments of vehicles, which travel from the East to the North at night.

“On 7th October 2024, Bawuro and Najib were trailed from Onitsha where they had gone to buy another consignment and eventually arrested in Taraba the following day 8th October while a total of 276,500 pills of tramadol were recovered from a Toyota Avensis saloon car marked DKA 57 TT, which they abandoned on the Jalingo-Yola expressway when they noticed NDLEA operatives were on their trail.

“Follow up operations were subsequently carried out in Delta and Anambra states where Ezeh Amaechi Martin and Udechukwu Nelson Anayo were arrested by operatives of the NDLEA Directorate of Intelligence, which coordinated the whole effort with their counterparts in Taraba, Adamawa, Delta and Anambra.

“Another leader of a different syndicate, Adejumo Elijah Ishola, 37, was arrested by operatives of a special operation unit of the Agency on Tuesday, 5th November at Seme border in Lagos on his way from Ghana with 3.3 kilograms of cocaine and 600grams of synthetic cannabis. This followed months of intelligence and surveillance on his cross-border criminal activities.”

The NDLEA also foiled an attempt by Orji Ogbonna to send 32.50kg bottles of codeine syrup and 5.70kg cannabis to London.

The items were concealed in tigernuts cargo through the export shed of the Lagos airport.

“A follow up operation led to the arrest of Orji at his warehouse in Ajao estate, Lagos,” the statement reads.