Woman arrested in Edo for ‘trying to smuggle cannabis to suspect in police custody’

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says a 35-year-old nursing mother has been arrested in Edo for allegedly attempting to smuggle cannabis to a suspect in police custody.

In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesman, said the suspect identified as Mariam Dirisu was arrested at the Edo police command headquarters.

Babafemi said the cannabis was concealed inside a container for food meant for the suspect, who was identified as a relative of Dirisu.

“In a most audacious move, a nursing mother, 35-year-old Mariam Dirisu was arrested at the Edo state command headquarters of the Agency on Thursday, 21st October, while trying to smuggle drugs into the cell for a suspect in custody,” the statement reads.

“Officers on duty had, while searching the food brought by Mariam for her relative in custody, discovered two cups of ‘loud’ cannabis weighing 13grams buried inside the food (‘akpu’) meant for the suspect in custody.”

He added that another suspect, identified as Samuel Ochonogor, was arrested in a forest in Edo with 66.7kg of cannabis, while a cannabis farm “measuring 3.210691 hectares in Ayegunle forest, Akoko Edo area of the state” was destroyed and 100 bags of harvested cannabis weighing 1,639kg recovered.

According to him, the NDLEA also arrested other suspects — including a “fake soldier” — in separate raids across Lagos, Ondo, Kano, Kaduna and Plateau.

“Two consignments of heroin weighing 4.40kg and 550grams were intercepted on October 6 and 15 respectively at the cargo shed of the MMIA, Ikeja. The first was seized at the SAHCO import shed of the airport when it was discovered inside bags of granulated sugar and flour from Johannesburg, South Africa via Addis Ababa to Lagos on an Ethiopian Airlines flight,” he said.

“Two suspects, Chukwuemeka Ugochukwu, a freight agent that cleared the consignment, and one Kabiru Aminu, a stock keeper that was to collect the cargo for onward distribution to recipients, were arrested for further investigation.

“In a follow-up operation on 9th October, one Adeoya Segun Joy who was to collect the luggage from Kabiru Aminu was arrested at Ajao estate while Enahoro Emmanuel Anointing who was also assigned to collect the consignment was nabbed in Abule Egba area of Lagos. Both were acting on instructions from their partners in South Africa.

“The second consignment discovered at the SAHCO export shed and concealed in walls of 10 cartons laced with tailoring materials, was heading to Malaysia via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian cargo airline, while a freight forwarding agent, Ekpe Samson Victor, was arrested in connection with the illegal export.

“In Ondo state, two persons; Uchenna Obodo Ali, 22, and Tochukwu Eno, 20, were arrested with 302kg of cannabis when operatives raided a warehouse in Emure forest, Owo LGA, on Friday, 22nd October.

“In Kano, a 45-year-old driver, Mohammed Haruna, was arrested with 10,161 sachets of Tramadol and Rohypnol tablets and capsules while conveying the illicit drugs in a bus for distribution. Likewise in Kaduna, another suspected fake soldier, Abiodun Ademoya, from Akure south in Ondo state was arrested in Zaria with 11.6kg of cannabis.”

Commending the officers, Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, urged them to remain committed in their efforts to ensure that “drug cartels across the country are dismantled”.