The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) dismantled a trans-border drug cartel and arrested five leaders of syndicates operating in various parts of the world in a special operation that lasted weeks and recovered various quantities of skunk, methamphetamine, and ephedrine, as well as air compressors used to conceal and distribute them globally.
The special operation followed the agency’s Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd. ), warned that drug lords and cartels will have it tough in 2023 if they do not get out of the illegal business.
According to Femi Babafemi, the agency’s spokesman, leaders of the cartel, which is spread across Dubai, UAE; Cotonou, Benin Republic; Togo; Oman, Thailand, and Europe, as well as Lagos, Imo, and Onitsha in Anambra state, were still coordinating efforts to send their illicit consignments to Dubai and other parts of the world while on Christmas and New Year holidays in their villages.
Their lid was blown off on Thursday, December 29, 2022, when their freight agent, Onyeisue Collins Chukwudi, was apprehended by NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to export three large car air compressors to Dubai. A rapid follow-up operation resulted in the recovery of five more compressors at his home at 24 Legacy Road, Ayobo, Lagos.
A total of 27.50kgs of skunk were extracted from the air compressors after welding equipment was employed to cut them apart.
Further research revealed that the freight agent was a member of a larger criminal organization. As a result, significant operational tools were used to hunt down the first kingpin, Onuoha Peter Obioma, who lives in the Benin Republic and Togo but visits Lagos on occasion for business. On Saturday, January 7, 2023, Obioma walked into the arms of NDLEA operatives with a bag containing additional air compressors used to conceal 15.7kgs of skunk and a crystalline substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine after the agency’s sniffer dogs identified compressors with drug concealment.
Obioma’s comments prompted the arrest of two more cartel leaders: Dubai-based Ugo Kelechi Alex (called KC) and Iwueke Ugochukwu (aka Odugwu), an Onitsha, Anambra-based businessman, who were still enjoying the Christmas and New Year holidays in their Imo State hometown at the time. On Tuesday, January 10th, a well-coordinated operation was carried out at their ancestral homes in Umuobi village, Igbejere community, Ihitti-Uboma LGA, Imo State, while the arrowhead of the cartel, identified as Ezenwekwe Obinna Nicodemus, an automobile parts dealer at Alaba International Market, Lagos, was placed under surveillance. Kelechi and Iwueke’s Lexus SUV and Toyota jeep were quickly found.
