NDLEA freezes drug traffickers’ accounts, seizes hotels, assets

Taiwo Adeyeye

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its campaign against international drug cartels by targeting their financial networks, assets, bank accounts and other proceeds of illicit drug trafficking.

The agency also declared that drug traffickers would have no hiding place, whether in Nigeria or abroad, as it strengthens cooperation with international law enforcement agencies to track and prosecute suspects who flee the country.

The Director of Media and Advocacy and spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this on Thursday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State.

Babafemi said the agency’s strategy had moved beyond the traditional approach of arresting traffickers and seizing illicit drugs to dismantling the structures and financial systems sustaining the drug trade.

According to him, the NDLEA now targets financiers, enablers, barons and cartels, while also blocking routes through which illicit substances are brought into and circulated within Nigeria.

“The agency is dealing very deadly blows to the cartels. It’s not just about going after the traffickers or mopping up those things on the streets. We’re going to the roots, blocking the pipelines and then going after the financiers, the enablers, the barons, the cartels, and dismantling all of them.”

He said the agency had developed extensive partnerships with international law enforcement bodies, including the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency and Border Force, as well as counterparts in Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland and other countries.

Babafemi said the international partnerships had made it increasingly difficult for Nigerian drug traffickers to escape justice by relocating abroad.

“Wherever they think they are hiding, there have been very ample examples and evidence of our joint operations with our counterparts in recent times to show that wherever they think they are hiding, our hand will definitely reach them.”

NDLEA Seizes Drug Barons’ Assets
The NDLEA spokesman said the agency was also pursuing properties and other assets allegedly acquired through proceeds of drug trafficking.

He listed mansions, luxury vehicles, hotels and bank accounts among assets that could be targeted through the appropriate legal process.

Babafemi cited the arrest of Nigerian drug suspect Amadi Simon, whom he said had been hiding in Switzerland, as an example of the agency’s international cooperation.

According to him, the investigation lasted about two years and involved collaboration with the US DEA and law enforcement counterparts in Switzerland, France and Greece.

He said Simon was arrested in Switzerland while two female associates were simultaneously arrested in Anambra and Delta states.

Babafemi added that three hotels allegedly linked to the network had been taken over, while associated bank accounts had been frozen.

“We’ve gone after all of their assets. We’ve taken about three hotels from them so far, with all their bank accounts already frozen,” he said.

He stressed that the objective was to prevent suspected drug traffickers and their associates from continuing to benefit from proceeds of criminal activities, subject to the relevant legal and forfeiture processes.

Nearly two million tramadol tablets seized

The NDLEA spokesman also disclosed that the agency had recently dismantled a cartel operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.

He described the route as a major channel through which opioids had entered Nigeria and contributed to the country’s drug-abuse challenges.

Babafemi said the NDLEA seized almost two million pieces of tramadol in July during operations targeting the route.

According to him, suspects arrested in connection with the consignment were prosecuted and convicted, while the trucks and long trailers allegedly used to transport the drugs were forfeited to the Federal Government.

“Just in July, that pipeline was also shut down with the seizure of almost two million pieces of tramadol, as well as the arrest of the elements involved. The brand-new long trailers that were used to bring them in were all forfeited to the Federal Government,” he said.

91,148 Offenders Arrested Since 2021
Babafemi said the NDLEA’s enforcement strategy had recorded significant results since Brigadier General Buba Marwa (retd.) assumed leadership of the agency in January 2021.

He disclosed that 91,148 offenders had been arrested during the period, including 243 identified by the agency as drug dealers, while approximately 16 million kilogrammes of assorted illicit substances had been seized.

He also said more than 2,075 hectares of cannabis plantations had been destroyed.
Babafemi maintained that the figures demonstrated progress in the agency’s campaign against illicit drugs.

“Definitely, we’re winning. We may not have been where we want to be, but then we’re definitely getting to where we hope to be,” he said.

NDLEA Opens Toll-Free Drug Abuse Helpline
Beyond enforcement, Babafemi said the NDLEA was expanding its treatment, rehabilitation and counselling services for people struggling with substance abuse.

He disclosed that the agency currently operates 31 rehabilitation centres across the country, including one in Ogun State, with plans to establish an additional six or seven centres.

According to him, the NDLEA has also established a Drug Abuse Call Centre where people affected by substance abuse can access counsellors, clinical psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatric doctors.

The service, he said, operates 24 hours a day and provides teletherapy and psychosocial support.

He gave the toll-free number as 0800-1020-3040, urging people struggling with substance abuse, as well as those with useful information about drug-related activities, to use the platform.

Babafemi said callers could access the service in English, Pidgin English, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.

He added that people requiring physical treatment would be referred to appropriate rehabilitation facilities, whether public, private or tertiary institutions.

The spokesman disclosed that more than 53,000 people had been treated and rehabilitated through NDLEA rehabilitation centres.

He explained that people arrested during enforcement operations were profiled to determine whether they required prosecution or counselling and treatment.

NDLEA Seeks Removal of Fine Option
Babafemi further disclosed that the agency was advocating the removal of the option of fines for convicted drug offenders.

He said the NDLEA was working with the Federal Government through the Office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to amend the relevant legislation, with the proposed amendment expected to be presented to the National Assembly.

According to him, the agency believes that allowing convicted drug offenders to pay fines in place of imprisonment could weaken the deterrent effect of convictions.

“When somebody is taken to court to face consequences, when the person is prosecuted and convicted, the person should be able to go to prison to serve the sentence rather than being given an option of a fine,” he said.

Babafemi explained that some convicted offenders with sufficient financial resources could pay the prescribed fine and return to society, which, in the agency’s view, could undermine deterrence.

He, however, said suspects could also be seen back in their communities for other reasons, including release for counselling and treatment, court-granted bail and the imposition of fines following conviction under existing provisions.

NDLEA Rejects Calls for Cannabis Legalisation
The NDLEA spokesman also reiterated the agency’s opposition to calls for the legalisation of cannabis for medicinal, commercial or tax-revenue purposes.

He was responding to arguments by African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, who had criticised the destruction of cannabis farms in Edo State and advocated regulation of cannabis cultivation.

Babafemi said the NDLEA’s position was based on public-health and security concerns, noting that cannabis remains one of the most widely abused illicit substances in Nigeria.

He said the agency had also engaged the Nigerian Academy of Science on the issue.
Babafemi distinguished between high-THC cannabis products used recreationally and low-THC cannabis varieties that may be permitted for industrial or other controlled purposes in jurisdictions where they are regulated.

He argued that the products targeted in NDLEA enforcement operations were different from regulated low-THC industrial cannabis products.

Agency links drug abuse to security challenges

Babafemi also linked illicit drug trafficking and abuse to Nigeria’s wider security challenges.
He cited the seizure of Captagon at the Lagos airport as an example of emerging drug-trafficking threats.

According to him, the first seizure of Captagon in Nigeria occurred in 2021, while another consignment was intercepted at the Lagos airport shortly before the interview.

He said the drug could command a high price and alleged that proceeds from its trafficking could be used to finance criminal activities, including the acquisition of arms and ammunition.

Babafemi also warned about the health and behavioural risks associated with the abuse of stimulant-type drugs.

Parents, communities urged to remain vigilant

The NDLEA spokesman urged parents and community leaders to play a greater role in preventing drug abuse among young people.

He advised parents to pay attention to changes in their children’s behaviour, friendships, eating and sleeping patterns, as well as the contents of their bags and personal belongings.

He also encouraged parents who suspect drug use to make use of drug-testing kits available through the NDLEA.

Babafemi stressed that the fight against drug abuse could not be left to government agencies alone, saying families and communities had important roles to play in prevention, early intervention, treatment and rehabilitation.