The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says its operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, have seized nine cartons of khat, weighing one hundred and forty-six-point-nine-five kilograms at the cargo wing of the airport.
A statement signed by the Director Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Mr Femi Babafemi, said the consignment packaged as dried green tea was shipped from Addis Ababa, on board Ethiopian airline.
According to the statement, after initial examination and suspicion, a clearing agent was asked to report with the consignee before the release, but failed to do so for fear of arrest, a development that led to a laboratory test on the consignment, which tested positive to khat and the eventual seizure.
Similarly, about one hundred thousand bottles of codeine syrup with a total weight of fifteen thousand, three hundred and twenty five kilograms, have been intercepted and seized by the NDLEA, at the Onne seaport, Port Harcourt, Rivers state.
Ekwi Ajide of our Abuja bureau reports that the seizure followed an intelligence received by the agency, as a result of which the container was put on hold and moved to the Customs Government warehouse within the port complex.
No importer or agent has however come forward in respect of the container but efforts are ongoing to track the owner for further investigation and prosecution.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Retired Brigadier Mohamed Buba Marwa, hailed the synergy among various government agencies at the Onne port and urged them not to rest on their oars as they work hard daily to keep Nigeria safe.
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