The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended an Indian at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) for attempting to smuggle 72 parcels of heroin weighing 11 kilograms into Nigeria.
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Daily News 24 reports that the arrest was disclosed on the agency’s official website, revealing that the illicit substance was cleverly disguised as chocolates, with each parcel factory-sealed in wafer wrappers. Intelligence reports indicated that the suspect had traveled from Bangkok, Thailand, with layovers in Vietnam and Doha before arriving in Kano aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), stated that the arrest reflects a growing trend where international drug cartels recruit foreign nationals to smuggle narcotics into Nigeria. He emphasized that NDLEA operatives, equipped with advanced technology and intelligence, remain steadfast in intercepting such illicit activities.
More drug busts in Kano
In another operation in Kano, NDLEA officers arrested a 45-year-old suspect, Michael Ogundele, on Thursday, March 20, at Gadar Tamburawa along the Zaria-Kano road. Acting on credible intelligence, operatives seized a 50-litre steel gas cylinder in his possession. After cutting it open with welding tools, they discovered 50,000 pills of tramadol (225mg) concealed inside.
Similarly, on Wednesday, March 19, NDLEA operatives apprehended Sunday Ogar, 40, in the Gunduwawa area with 27 kilograms of skunk, a high-potency strain of cannabis. A day earlier, on Tuesday, March 18, a female suspect, Khadijah Abdullahi, 40, was arrested in Lungun Bulala Yalwa for allegedly possessing 424 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
