BY BRIGHT JACOB
A businessman, Kingsley Celestino, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State with over 9.40kg of heroin concealed in false bottoms of his two travelling bags. Celestino, a business class passenger on Qatar Airlines flight was arrested at Terminal 2 of the MMIA on Saturday on his way to India.
Although he is a native of Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, the 49-yearold was travelling with a Guinean international passport. The NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, revealed these in a statement on Sunday.
Babafemi said, “Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect frequently travels to India on business class tickets. He claimed he deals in the clothing business between Nigeria and India. It was further established that he obtained the Guinean international passport in Guinea Bissau, where he said his mother came from. “In the same vein, a 24-year old passenger travelling to Oman, Etounu Monday, was intercepted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Monday, February 27, during the outward clearance of Ethiopian Airline flight ET 950 while attempting to export 1.924kg of skunk concealed in cream tubes.”
Also, at the Tincan seaport, Lagos, the NDLEA operatives on Friday, March 3, recovered 244 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 79 kilograms concealed in medium size wooden sound system speakers packed inside two out of four used vehicles in a container marked CRSU9258348 coming from Toronto via Montreal, Canada. The imported vehicles used as cover for the drugs are a 2009 Jeep Wrangler and a 2009 Honda Ridgeline.
Similarly, the NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, attached to courier firms in Lagos intercepted a consignment of nine parcels of methamphetamine concealed in native black soap, Dudu Osun, heading to Europe. Babafemi also noted that no fewer than 778,190 pills of pharmaceutical opioids including tramadol and a drum of 270kg Methylene Chloride were recovered by operatives from a suspect, Eric Pepe Yohanna, 33, in Jalingo, Taraba State, on Monday, February 27, following credible intelligence.
Also seized from him is a Daylong tricycle used in distributing the illicit substances. In Adamawa State, the house of a wanted notorious drug dealer, Mamudu Njobdi, at Sebore, Gyalla road Dougada ward, Mubi was raided in the early hours of Monday, February 27, where the suspect was arrested and drug exhibits were recovered. The 31-year-old suspect was earlier arrested on Wednesday, February 22, at his drug joint in Kolere water board but mobilised thugs to attack the NDLEA officers and in the process escaped with exhibits.
While a suspect, Geoffrey Okpani, 31, was arrested at Bukuru area of Jos, Plateau State, with 27.45kg of cannabis, Ajayi Tope, 30, was arrested on Saturday, March 4, at Area 5 Ile-Ife, in Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State with 18kg of the same substance. In Lagos, the NDLEA operatives on Friday, March 3 raided De-Niche Hotel & Suites, Omole Estate, Ojodu Ikeja where 24 suspects were arrested and different quantities of illicit drugs recovered from them.
