The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended three visually impaired individuals involved in an illicit drug operation between Lagos and Kano, while a fourth member of the gang remains at large.
Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy for NDLEA, announced the arrests on Sunday in Abuja. The investigation began with the detention of a visually impaired suspect, Adamu Hassan (40), on October 28. Hassan was caught with 12 kilograms of skunk on the Gwagwalada Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory while traveling from Lagos to Kano.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Hassan was unaware of the contents of the bag he had been given to deliver in Kano.
Following this development, a subsequent operation led to the arrest of the ringleader of the syndicate, Bello Abubakar (45), who is also visually impaired. Abubakar, a married man with five children, stated that he had been residing in Lagos for 30 years but had engaged in the illicit drug trade for the past five years.
Muktar Abubakar (59), another visually impaired member of the syndicate, had been living in Lagos for 40 years and has three wives and 14 children. Muktar Abubakar and Bello Abubakar co-owned the illegal drug business, while the third suspect, Akilu Amadu (25), who is also visually impaired, contributed funds to the criminal enterprise. Amadu was responsible for delivering the consignment to Hassan at a motor park in Lagos for transportation to Kano.
A fourth member of the syndicate, Malam Aminu, who is also visually impaired and was expected to take delivery of the consignment in Kano, is currently at large.
