The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized what is known as the biggest heroin consignment at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos State.
The Enforcement had also arrested members of an Organised criminal organization which mainly deals in trafficking heroin across Nigeria, South African, Mozambique, American and Europe in an operation leading to the arrest of the consignment which weighed 51.90kg.
NDLEA chairman, Buba Marwa, revealed this while briefing journalists on Tuesday in Lagos.
Marwa said that the consignment was concealed in 15 cartoons of 2300-watt metal cutting machines.
He stressed that the operation was the single largest seizure of heroin at the airport.
He stated that there was an alignment between the seizure on September 18, 2022, seizure of 2,139.5kg cocaine in a warehouse, in Ikorodu area of the state,which he described as the biggest singular seizure in the history of NDLEA.
He said, “NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Command intercepted a suspicious package at the SAHCO Import Shed of the airport’s Cargo Terminal. The consignment was concealed in 15 cartons of 2300-watt metal cutting machines. Each carton was stocked with three blocks of high-grade heroin. In total, we recovered 45 blocks of the illicit substance with a total weight of 49.70kg.
“After the discovery, we were methodical and meticulous in our investigations. We started with the arrest of the freight agent whose name is Olowolagba Wasiu Babatunde. It turned out that he was hired for clearing services by Mattpee Logistics, a company operated by one Mr. Kola resident in South Africa.”