NDLEA Arrest Widow Using Fake Pregnancy to Traffic Cocaine, Destroy Skunk in Edo, Taraba, Ondo, Delta
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 50-year-old widow, Mrs. Ifeoma Henrietta Ezewuike, for attempting to traffic 1.3 kilograms of cocaine while disguising with a fake pregnancy to evade detection.
The suspect, a fashion designer and mother of one, was intercepted on Friday, August 22, at a bus terminal in Jibowu, Yaba, Lagos, while trying to deliver the drug consignment to customers in Abuja. A follow-up raid on her residence at Ago Palace, Okota, led to the recovery of 200 grams of cutting agents used in the production of cocaine.
In her confessional statement, Ezewuike, proprietress of Golden Star Creation, claimed she took over the illicit trade from her late husband, who died two years ago, even though she had been in the fashion business for two decades.
The widow’s arrest came amid a series of major NDLEA operations across the country last week, resulting in multiple seizures, arrests, and the destruction of illicit drugs.
In Lagos, operatives of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted 90 parcels of Loud — a strain of cannabis weighing 48.6kg — concealed in three cartons of imported kitchen sinks from the United States.
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In Adamawa, a raid on the home of notorious dealer Idris Garba in Yola South led to the arrest of his associate, Boniface Nnaji, 55, with 354,480 pills of tramadol. Similarly, in Kogi, NDLEA operatives seized 5,000 capsules of tramadol and hundreds of ampoules of pentazocine and diazepam injections from a suspect smuggling opioids across the River Niger.
The agency also recorded significant breakthroughs in Kano, where 452,070 opioid pills were recovered from a suspect’s residence, while other arrests yielded thousands of tramadol capsules and 140 litres of codeine syrup. In Kwara State, over 2.2 tonnes of cannabis were intercepted in three separate operations, while in Ekiti, two suspects were arrested with 96kg of skunk.
NDLEA teams, supported by security agencies, also destroyed large-scale cannabis farms across four states:
Delta: 25,500kg of skunk on four plantations in Ndokwa West.
Ondo: 25,025kg on three farms in Uso area.
Edo: 14,233kg on 5.6 hectares in Owan West.
Taraba: 7,500kg on three hectares in Bali LGA.
Elsewhere in Abuja, two dispatch riders were arrested in Jabi for distributing drugs within the city, one caught with pentazocine injections and the other with packaged cannabis.
The agency also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in Katsina, Kano, Abia, and Nasarawa States, engaging schools, worship centres, and community leaders.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers involved in the nationwide operations and urged them to sustain the momentum.
“These arrests and seizures reflect the balanced approach of the agency in combining enforcement with advocacy to tackle the drug menace,” Marwa said.
By PRNigeria1⁸
