Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted over 64, 863.5kgs consignments of nitrous oxide, otherwise known as 'laughing gas' at the Apapa seaport in Lagos and Imo State.
This comes barely 24 hours after the chairman/chief executive officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd) directed all the commands and formations of the agency to begin an immediate clampdown on illegal sale and use of the substance following its abuse by people who use it for recreational purposes.
The spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement in Abuja Friday, noted that this followed credible intelligence on the matter.
"NDLEA operatives at the Apapa seaport, on July 12, intercepted two containers marked MSKU 7626856 and MSKU 7689448 suspected to contain cartons of nitrous oxide and plastic pressure release nozzles imported from China. As a result, a joint examination of the containers was carried out by NDLEA officers, men of the Customs Service and other stakeholders the following day, July 13. During the search of the two containers, a total of 522 cartons of nitrous oxide, containing 16,366 packages weighing 64,852kgs were recovered along with the paraphernalia for recreational use.
"The importer of the consignment, 30-year-old Stephen Eze and his agent, Michael Chukwuma, were thereafter arrested and detained for further investigation," Babafemi said.
