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NDLEA intercepts drug consignments hidden in wooden statue, imported vehicle, arrests 11 suspects

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Eagle-eyed operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have foiled attempts by elements of organised criminal groups to use various disingenuous modes of concealment to import consignments of illicit substances into Nigeria and export same to the United Kingdom, and United Arab Emirate through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja and Tincan seaport in Lagos.

No less than 37.5 kilograms of such illicit consignments were intercepted in the past week, with the arrest of 11 suspects in interdiction operations that led to the seizure of almost four tons of skunk in Kaduna, Kano and Lagos state.

At the Lagos airport, a freight agent Ogunsina Damilare was arrested on Friday 6th January following a bid to export 1.5 kilograms of skunk hidden in foodstuffs to Dubai, UAE through the SAHCO export shed of the MMIA, while a similar attempt to ship 11.5kgs of the same substance to the United Kingdom was frustrated when the consignment concealed in a giant wooden sculpture was intercepted by NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) at a courier company in Lagos.

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Curiously, the latter emanated from Ghana with London as destination.

At the Tincan port in Lagos, a shipment of 24.5kilograms cannabis indica to Nigeria from Montreal, Canada was intercepted by operatives while an N8million bribe offered NDLEA officers by the importer has been secured in an account for the prosecution of the case.

While the importer, Cedrick Maduweke is still at large, one of his accomplices, Steve Isioma Adigwe has been arrested. The consignment was hidden in a used Toyota Sienna vehicle that arrived the port along with three other cars in a container marked MSMU 5082733.

A total of 3, 672 kilograms of cannabis sativa were recovered from two locations and five suspects arrested in Kaduna during separate raid operations.

Arrested at a warehouse at Rido village on Wednesday 3rd January include: Edward Emmanuel, 28; and Miracle Madu, with 298 bags of C/S weighing 3,576kgs. Investigations revealed that the consignment was moved from a southern state to Kaduna in a petroleum product bearing truck.

READ  NDLEA intercepts Tramadol, huge sums of cash from Pakistan, Austria, Italy at Lagos airport

Also, two other suspects: Sunday Bassey, 29 and Jessica Daniel, 14, were nabbed with 96kgs of same substance at Gonin Gora area of the state, while Sanusi Isah, 30, was arrested on Saturday 7th January at Giwa area with over 12,000 tablets of Tramadol 225mg and Diazepam.

In Kano, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 7th Jan. intercepted Kabiru Abdulhamid, 40, with 119 blocks of C/S weighing 73kgs at Semugu area, while a total of 28,400 tablets of tramadol and over 230kgs of cannabis were seized in raid operations in Festac town and Lagos Island areas of Lagos state.

Some of the suspects arrested in the Lagos raids include: Rukayyat Eshinlokun; Pelumi Alejo and Banna Maina who specializes in distribution of illicit drugs disguised as a dispatch rider.

Meanwhile, in Imo state, a suspect, Amechi Moses was arrested in a follow up operation on Friday 6th January following the interception of 29, 800 tablets of Tramadol 225mg in a commercial bus along Owerri – Onitsha road going to Aba in Abia state.

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Meanwhile, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the officers and men of Tincan, MMIA, DOGI, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano and Imo Commands for the arrests and seizures.

He charged them and their compatriots across the country to intensify the heat on drug cartels in Nigeria while balancing their efforts on supply reduction with drug demand reduction activities.

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Robbers steal car with three-year-old boy inside in Ogun

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A father, Taiwo Fayobi, has sought police intervention after some robbers stole his Toyota Camry car with his son in it in the Ikenne area of Ogun State.

It was gathered that Fayobi was attempting to open the gate of his house when the robbers entered his vehicle and drove away with his three-year-old son.

The development threw Fayobi into confusion and he raised the alarm over the incident.

He, thereafter, proceeded to the nearest police station to lodge an official complaint so the suspects would be tracked down and arrested.

 

Confirming the development in a post on X on Saturday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Omotola Odutola, identified the number plate of the stolen car as PKA 446 GV.

 

The post read, “Stolen Car / Child. On May 11, 2024. One Taiwo Fayobi, a resident in Ikenne, Ogun State, reported he alighted from his Toyota Camry PKA 446 GV to open his gate.

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“Two hoodlums zoomed off with his car, with his three-year-old son inside. Influencers pls share to save the boy.”

 

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Canada fines Binance $4.38m for breach of money laundering laws

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The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) has fined Binance, a popular cryptocurrency platform, $6 million for violating the country’s money laundering and terrorist financing laws.

 

According to international media, the fine is valued in Canadian dollars, bringing the total amount to USD4.38 million when converted.

 

In a recent statement on its website, FINTRAC said Binance had failed to register as a foreign money services business with the intelligence body.

 

The anti-money laundering agency said the cryptocurrency firm also failed to report large virtual currency transactions worth $10,000 or more.

 

“FINTRAC announced today [Thursday] that it has imposed an administrative monetary penalty on Binance Holdings Limited, also operating as Binance Holdings (IE) Ltd., Binance.com, Binance Global and Binance,” the statement reads.

 

“This foreign money services business was imposed an administrative monetary penalty of $6,002,000 on May 7, 2024 for non-compliance with Part 1 of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and its associated Regulations.

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“Binance Holdings Limited was found to have committed the following administrative violations: Failure to register with FINTRAC as a foreign money services business; and failure to report large virtual currency transactions of $10,000 or more in the course of a single transaction, together with the prescribed information.”

 

Commenting on the matter, Sarah Paquet, director and chief executive officer of FINTRAC, said the country’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime is in place to protect the safety of Canadians and the security of the nation’s economy.

 

“FINTRAC will continue to work with businesses to help them understand and comply with their obligations under the Act. We will also be firm in ensuring that businesses continue to do their part and we will take appropriate actions when they are needed.”

Adjudged to be the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Binance has been the subject of regulatory sanctions in some parts of the world.

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On April 30, Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, was sentenced to four months in prison for money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting and violations in Seattle, United States (US).

 

According to US officials, Zhao intentionally turned a blind eye to transactions that financed terrorism, the illegal drug trade, and child sex abuse.

 

Earlier in February, a federal judge in the US approved a plea deal by Binance, requiring the cryptocurrency exchange to pay over $4.3 billion in fines and reparations.

 

Binance is also under investigation for illicit operations and foreign exchange (FX) rate manipulation in Nigeria.

 

The firm, and two of its top officials — Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa, and Tigran Gambaryan, the company’s head of financial crime compliance — were charged with tax evasion and money laundering by the federal government.

 

The duo were arrested and detained on February 28 — but Anjarwalla escaped from custody in March.

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After five days, body of missing Lagos drainage worker recovered

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After days of intensive search, the corpse of a drainage worker, who got trapped while clearing the debris that blocked a tunnel in the Onipanu area of Lagos State has been recovered.

Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, while confirming this in a statement on Friday, identified the deceased as 59-year-old Tajudeen Amololo.

 

The LASEMA boss in the statement said, “The victim identified as Mr. Tajudeen Amololo (age-59) has been recovered dead from the drainage and bagged by cobra team subsequently handed him over to LAMATA (Drainducks) with the Nigeria Police Force Ilupeju Division officials for adequate action.

“Recovery operation concluded while cobra team with the agency’s paramedic heading back to base.”

 

The sad incident happened on Monday while the victim was de-silting drainage in the community.

 

Oke-Osanyintolu noted that the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority employed a male adult who works for Drain Ducks.

READ  NDLEA intercepts Tramadol, huge sums of cash from Pakistan, Austria, Italy at Lagos airport

 

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