The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Okpara Chigozie, a 60-year-old major drug cartel leader who had been evading arrest since 2019. He was apprehended at his hideout on Michael Ojo Street, Isheri, Ojo area of Lagos, following the interception of one of his drug consignments along the Apapa-Oshodi expressway.
Okpara’s courier, 51-year-old Achebe Kenneth Nnamdi, was arrested while heading to Onitsha, Anambra State, in a white Toyota Sienna vehicle with 7.6 kilograms of cocaine and 900 grams of methamphetamine hidden in body compartments. A follow-up operation at Okpara’s hideout led to the recovery of an additional 1.8 kilograms of cocaine and 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine.
The NDLEA also raided Sarah Sam Hotels on Ogudu Road, Kosofe, where they recovered 1.3 kilograms of cannabis, 900 grams of drug-laced gummies, and 22.9 grams of skunk from one Obayemi Oyetade.
In related operations, the NDLEA has made several other significant arrests. At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, operatives intercepted 7,790 pills of tramadol and rohypnol from an Italy-bound passenger, Omoregie Nice Uyiosa, and 17 parcels of skunk weighing 1.70 kilograms concealed in Golden Morn cereal packs bound for Pakistan.
In Kaduna State, the NDLEA seized 742.866 kilograms of skunk and Colorado from three suspects. In Borno State, 74,360 opioid pills were intercepted, and a suspect, Audu Modu, was arrested. Additionally, a 63-year-old woman, Akuna Nelson, was arrested in Bayelsa State with 163 liters of skunk, and a software engineer, Olu Marshal, was caught with cannabis and drug paraphernalia in Lekki.
