from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – NIGERIAN authorities have arrested one of the country’s most notorious drug kingpins and seized cannabis weighing over 2 tonnes in an operation conducted during Easter weekend.
The main suspect, Sami Ashoko (39), has been arrested in the northern Nasarawa State after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) raided his warehouse and found 100 bags of the drug weighing a total of over 1 tonne.
Justice Arinze, NDLEA head in the state, said this seizure had beaten the previous record of 45 bags weighing about half a tonne recovered in January 2021 as the highest singular seizure of cannabis since the inception of the Command in 1999.
“The seized consignment was meant for Easter sales, and which he expects to sell out in two weeks,” Arinze said.
In a related development, two members of another alleged drug cartel, Adamu Badamasi and Adamu Abba, were also arrested in Edo State, also in the north, allegedly trying to move 950 compressed blocks of cannabis weighing 1,33 tonnes.
The illegal substance was transported in a bus.
Another unnamed trafficker, who allegedly supplies drugs to some notorious drug joints in the capital, Abuja, has also been arrested.
Retired Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, NDLEA head, welcomed the breakthroughs.
“The skunk seized is certainly less illicit substances available on the streets,” Marwa said.
– CAJ News