Operatives from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended former convict Eniola Sodade for passport racketeering at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
According to NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, Sodade had previously been arrested in June 2024 for drug trafficking and served a four-year prison sentence. After his conviction, he was given the option to pay a fine of N750,000, which he settled to regain his freedom.
In a recent operation in December 2024, NDLEA officers discovered 52 passports concealed in shipments bound for Canada, Russia, and other countries, hidden within shoe soles and food items. This led to the arrest of four individuals associated with the syndicate, including Sodade and accomplices Saheed Awwal, Salaudeen Afeez, and Adebayo Bamigbade. The suspects and evidence were subsequently handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) for further investigation.
In a separate operation, NDLEA officers at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers, recovered over 316,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup during a joint examination with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on December 31, following credible intelligence.
Additionally, NDLEA operatives raided a local dealer’s residence in Kano, recovering 149,090 pills of tramadol and exol-5 from 45-year-old Ismail Muhammad.
In Kwara, two individuals, 24-year-old Khadijat Abdulraheem and 20-year-old Ayomide Morakinyo, were arrested for allegedly producing and selling drug-laced cupcakes to local students. A search of their apartment yielded 42 pieces of the illicit cakes.
