National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a notorious major supplier of illicit drugs in Abia state with over 100kg cocaine and cannabis sativa.
The Agency’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
Babafemi said that the suspect, Chibuike Apolos, was arrested on April 21 during an early morning raid of his hideout at Mbausi in Isialangwa North area of the state.
According to him, Apolos has been on the wanted list of NDLEA command in Abia since February, following the arrest of one Chima Ukeleonu, the suspect behind the video that went viral in January 2021, showing a young man hawking illicit drugs on the street.
He stated;
As a result, 38-year-old Apolos was put on wanted list. Following his arrest in the early hours of Wednesday, the Abia Government has already marked his house that serves as his hideout for demolition.
The command in Abia has been on his trail since February. Fortunately we got a tip-off that he just received some quantities of cannabis from Edo.
Notwithstanding the tense security situation in the south-east especially Abia, the command still embarked on the operations which culminated in the arrest of Apolos.
He added;
And, he was found with 10 bags of cannabis weighing 100kg, 1.6 grammes of cocaine, one gramme of heroin and five grammes of methamphetamine.
The suspect is one of the major suppliers of illicit drugs in Abia, especially in the Isialangwa communities. The state governor has been notified and his building has been marked for demolition.
In a similar development, the NDLEA command in Taraba arrested 61-year-old Lawan Gambo Umar for trafficking 58.50kg of cannabis sativa.
Babafemi said the suspect was taking the skunk concealed inside sacks of beans chaff used to feed animals to Fune in Yobe when operatives of the NDLEA intercepted him.
Reacting to the two developments, the Chairman, NDLEA, retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, commended the Abia and Taraba commands of the agency for the seizures and arrests.
Marwa urged them to sustain the current tempo of offensive action to rid the country of illicit substances.
He stated;
No doubt, the volume that has been seized in these two operations is less the kilogramme meant for our towns and communities.
I, therefore, urge our officers and men across all the commands all over the country to continue to smoke all the elements involved in this criminal trade out of their hiding places.
