18 pump action guns seized by NDLEA in Kogi
On Saturday, 18 pump action rifles and 2,300 cartridges slated for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Kaduna State were intercepted by Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kogi State. The guns and ammo were seized on Okene-Abuja highway in a J5 vehicle going to Kaduna-Zaria from Onitsha.
Two suspects, Chukwudi Aronu, 51, and Shuaibu Gambo, 23, were arrested in connection with the intercepts, spokesman for the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said in a statement yesterday.
Babafemi also said 26,600 bottles of psychoactive substance Akuskura were seized in Kano and one suspect Qasim Ademola arrested.
According to him, a man who once served a prison sentence in Ethiopia, Onyeka Charles Madukolu, was equally apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos for allegedly importing 5.90kg of cocaine concealed in cans of deodorants and lip gloss into Nigeria.
Babafemi said Madukolu, 44, was sentenced to seven years in prison in Ethiopia for drug trafficking and was released in 2020, only to return to the crime.
He said the suspect was arrested on Friday on his return from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airline flight, adding that a search of his luggage revealed concealed 5.90kg cocaine inside cans of deodorants and female lip gloss.
During preliminary interview, Madukolu, a father of two, told detectives he returned to drug business to raise fresh capital to start a legitimate business after his release from Ethiopian prison in 2020.
(Nation)
