Ejiofor Chiwuzie, an automobile spare parts dealer, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), over an attempt to export consignments of heroin and loud, a strain of cannabis, in Lagos.
The arrest was disclosed in a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in Abuja.
Babafemi said the consignments which were intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja, Lagos were concealed in LED rechargeable lamps and sofa metal legs through the export shed of airport.
He said that Ejiofor was arrested on Tuesday Sept. 24 at the Trade Fair complex, Ojo area of Lagos where he sells automobile spare parts.
This, he said followed the seizure of his cargo containing auto parts, rechargeable lamps, sofa metal legs and electronics going to Liberia at the export shed of the Lagos airport.
“Concealed inside the LED lamps and sofa legs were 37 parcels of heroin weighing 1.10 kilograms and four blocks of loud with a total weight of 1.20kg.
“A swift follow up operation led to the arrest of two freight agents and then Ejiofor who sent the consignment,” he said.
In the same vein, the NDLEA smashed attempts by drug trafficking networks to export consignments of loud, tramadol pills, co-codamol tablets, pentazocine injection, dihydrocodeine and promethazine tabs through some courier companies.
Babafemi said that the consignments were to be shipped to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Thailand and Oman.
He added that the attempted drug trafficking operations were foiled by NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation, (DOGI), attached to the logistics firms.
“While 2.3kg of loud hidden in a carton was going to Thailand, 749 grams of tramadol concealed in soles of locally made footwears were heading to Oman, with 60 ampoules of pentazocine injection going to the United States.
“No less than 200 pills of co-codamol were meant for Australia while a total of 700 tablets of dihydrocodeine, promethazine and tramadol as well as 20 ampoules of pentazocine injection concealed in soles of footwears were heading to the United Kingdom.
“Going to Canada were 58 ampoules of pentazocine injection hidden in female cloths. All the seizures in the courier houses were made between Monday Sept. 23 and Tuesday Sept. 24 September in Lagos,” he said.