NDLEA arrests 70-year-old bandits’ drug supplier in Niger

A 70-year-old drug trafficker, Mohammed Rabiu Wada, who supplies illicit substances to Boko Haram insurgents and bandits, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA in Niger state.

The suspect who hails from Dallawa town, state of Agadez, Niger Republic, was arrested on Thursday with 10 pallets of skunk in Jebba, Niger state.

He had brought into Nigeria hides and skin from the Niger Republic to sell in Lagos.
During interrogation, 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.

He was on his way back to the Niger Republic through the North West where he sells drugs to bandits when he was intercepted in Jebba.

According to the Commander, Niger state Command of the NDLEA, Aloye Isaac, 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 total 95 hectares, located at Ogbese forest.

The Ondo state Commander of the Agency, Haruna Gagara said although no one was arrested during the operation, the investigation has since commenced to identify and apprehend the owners of the farms.

In the same vein, operatives of the Agency in Kogi state have intercepted and seized 116.1kilogramme of cannabis at a patrol point along the Okene-Lokoja expressway.

A suspect, Sulaiman Said, who was arrested with the illicit drug, claimed he got them from Edo state and was heading to Kaduna state.

Kogi state Commander of NDLEA, Alfred Adewumi said the drug was concealed in sacks of chicken wastes loaded in a Mercedes-Benz 814 Truck with registration number: Taraba XA 366 ARD.

In his reaction to the successful operations in Niger, Ondo and Kogi states, Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the Commanders, men and officers of the three Commands for their commitment and unrelenting efforts to rid their areas of responsibility of illicit drugs.