A 70-year-old Nigerien drug trafficker, Mohammed Wada, who allegedly supplied illicit substances to Boko Haram and bandits, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The agency disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Babafemi said Wada, who hails from Dallawa town, state of Agadez, Niger Republic, was arrested on Thursday with 10 pallets of skunk in Jebba, Niger State.
The NDLEA spokesman said the suspect had brought into Nigeria hides and skin from Niger Republic to sell in Lagos.
During interrogation, according to the statement, the suspect claimed he sold his goods for N300,000 in Lagos and used the fund to buy 10 pallets of skunk at N25,000 each.
The statement explained that the suspect was on his way back to Niger Republic through the North West where he sold drugs to bandits when he was intercepted in Jebba.
Quoted in the statement, the Commander, Niger State Command of the NDLEA, Aloye Isaac, said the arrest is a further confirmation of the nexus between drug abuse and the security challenges in parts of the country.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in an operation backed by soldiers in Ondo State have identified and destroyed three large cannabis farms measuring in 95 hectares, located at Ogbese forest.
The Ondo state Commander of the agency, Haruna Gagara said although no one was arrested during the operation, investigation has since commenced to identify and apprehend the owners of the farms.
