The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has caught a big drug group that makes and sells dangerous drugs, especially methamphetamine, also known as ‘mkpuru mmiri’.
This information came from Mr. Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, in a statement made on Tuesday in Abuja.
Babafemi explained that the NDLEA officers arrested the leader of this drug group, a 42-year-old man named Joachin Mbonu. They found him in his big house in Umuomi village, Uzogba-Ezenomi, in Imo State.
He said the group operated in Imo and Rivers States, and they became a focus for the NDLEA because they were distributing a large amount of methamphetamine, especially in the South-East, South-South, and other parts of Nigeria.
After watching the group for weeks, special officers from the agency found the drug boss in his village home in Imo State on a Friday.
“The officers caught Mbonu along with a group member, Chibuike Ofoegbu, 34. They found different amounts of methamphetamine, chemicals used to make the drug, a pump action gun, and cartridges,” Babafemi said.
Items taken from the house included: 419.99 grams of methamphetamine; 750 grams of iodine (a chemical used to make meth); and 500 grams of sodium bicarbonate.
Also found were chemicals for making meth, two electronic weighing scales, and a pump-action gun with four cartridges.
Babafemi said the officers immediately went to another place Mbonu used at 11 Redemption Avenue, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
At this location, they found more items: 750 grams of processed sodium bicarbonate, 170 grams of plain sodium bicarbonate, and 75 grams of meth.
“Another search at the home of Mbonu’s associate, Odoemenam Chinedu, who is still on the run, in Njaba, Imo State, led to the finding of another pump action gun with 25 cartridges, among other things,” Babafemi explained.
“While Mbonu is in custody, two of his big houses in Imo State may be taken over by the Federal Government.
Mbonu had run away from South Africa, where he had learned how to make methamphetamine since he was being investigated for drug dealings there.
“When he came back to Nigeria, he continued making meth by setting up hidden labs in small villages,” Babafemi said.