28-year-old female supplier of ammunition to bandits, Bilkisu Suleman was among twelve (12) other suspects arrested by NDLEA operatives in new year interdiction operations in Kaduna, Lagos, Niger, Kogi, Kano, Borno, and Osun states.
Confirming the development, the spokesperson for the agency, Femi Babafemi, said “Bilkisu was arrested on Wednesday 3rd January by NDLEA officers on patrol along Zaria – Kano expressway in possession of 249 rounds of 7.62 mm live ammunition concealed in a black nylon bag kept in her lady’s handbag.
“She was on her way to deliver the ammunition to an identified bandit in Kakumi village, Katsina state when she was nabbed after which she was transferred to the Kaduna state command of the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation.
Similarly, a female drug trafficker, Queen Onyema, 27, was arrested on Saturday 6th January in a commercial bus enroute Abuja along Okene-Lokoja expressway with 12 compressed blocks of cannabis weighing 4.6kg and 0.046kg designer drugs concealed in an indomie carton.
Another suspect Mubarak Sani, 20, was nabbed at Gadar Tamburawa area of Kano on Monday 1st January with 445.9k kilograms of the same psychoactive substance.
In Borno, four suspects: Zanna Alhaji Dala, 32; Musa Umar, 21; Mushe Ibrahim, 23, and Shehu Idris, 19 were arrested at Pomfomari bye pass area of the state with 60kg cannabis.
Also, in Osun, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Osogbo-Ode Omu road on New Year’s Day, Monday 1st January intercepted a consignment of illicit drugs sent through waybill from Lagos to Osogbo.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Ibrahim Olawale, 43.
The drugs recovered include cannabis sativa 10.8kg; Loud 150 grams; Colorado 19 grams; and Molly 5 grams totalling 10.974kg.
A digital scale, N18,000 monetary exhibit and customized wrapping papers for Colorado were also seized.
“NDLEA Commands across the 36 states and the FCT equally continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitisation lectures in schools, communities, workplaces and others.
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These included WADA sensitisation lecture for students of Nurul Huda Community Islamiyya school, Farin Yaro, Katsina and members of first aid group of Jamaatul Izalatul Bidi’a Waiqamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) at Ajilari community school, Gomari, Maiduguri, Borno.
Others are WADA sensitisation lecture at the 2024 Oke Afo Youth Day, Olorunda LCDA Lagos and WADA advocacy visit to the Emir of Gaya, Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Gaya by the Kano state command of the Agency.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the arrests and seizures of the past week by officers and men of the MMIA, Lagos, Niger, Kogi, Kano, Borno, and Osun Commands,
charged them and their compatriots across all formations of the Agency to continue to remain vigilant and double their drug demand reduction as well as drug supply reduction efforts in the new year.