NDLEA Arrests Fake Soldier With Drugs For Bandits, Others

A collage of photos of suspects arrested and recovered items.

A fake soldier, Hayatu Galadima, and his accomplice, Hamisu Adamu, have been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) while conveying drugs, ammunition, and communication equipment to bandits in Kaduna State.

The duo was arrested on Friday last week by a patrol team of NDLEA officers along the Gwagwalada Expressway in Abuja, the agency revealed in a statement on Sunday.

Items recovered from them include 21 RLA 7.45mm ammunition concealed in a water bottle; 16 packs of new two-way radio (walkie talkie); four army coloured head masks; and a wallet containing an army ID.

Also recovered from the suspects were three mobile phones, seven Nigerian Army pass letters, five handbags, and a sack containing personal belongings, among other items.

While Galadima claimed to be a Lance Corporal serving in Ibadan, Oyo State, the suspected said they were taking the items to Kaduna and Kano.

A photo released by the NDLEA shows the masks and other items recovered by operatives.

But the NDLEA said a preliminary investigation indicated that the suspects may have contact with bandits in the North West and were possibly moving the ammunition and the two-way radios to bandits to aid their operations following the suspension of telecommunications services in parts of Zamfara, Sokoto, and Kaduna States.

In a bid to further investigate the matter, the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa has directed the FCT Command of the Agency – which made the arrest – to transfer the suspects to authorities of the Nigerian Army and another intelligence agency, which had earlier placed the two men on its watch list.

Student, Others Arrested

Meanwhile, in Rivers State, a final year student of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Port Harcourt, Mario Okiwelu, has been arrested for importing five variants of liquid cannabis weighing 49.6grams from the United States.

He was apprehended along with his accomplice, Precious Awuse, on Monday last week through controlled delivery around the NIPOST area in Port Harcourt.

This certificate is used to conceal illicit drugs.

In the same vein, narcotic officers attached to some courier firms in Lagos have seized different sizes of illicit drugs, including 40grams of cocaine concealed in a degree certificate going to Australia, 280 grams of cannabis hidden in body cream bottles going to Cyprus, 400grams of tramadol tucked in plastic bottles heading to Australia, and 1kg of Methamphetamine concealed in auto parts with Hong Kong as the destination.

Attempts by some traffickers to also import 20 cartons of khat weighing 126.900 kilograms through the NAHCO import shed of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, were thwarted and the consignment seized.

Last Wednesday, one Ibrahim Kale Sulyman was arrested during cargo search operations at SAHCO export shed and sachets of tramadol weighing 76grams concealed inside black soap heading to Dubai were recovered from him.