The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had intercepted 56.25 kilogrammes of heroin concealed inside car shock absorbers originating from Pakistan at the cargo section of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, Nigeria. A clearing and forwarding agent Yekini Shittu is been quizzed by anti-narcotic agents while an airport taxi driver Kamoru Ayinde Gbadamosi had been declared wanted in connection with the unlawful importation.

 The seizures were the single largest of heroin made in 2009. A drug cartel had wanted to smuggle the drug into the country on two separate occasions in November and December 2009 when NDLEA officials uncovered the plots.
 
Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade expressed satisfaction with the success of ‘Operation West Bridge’ under the Memorandum of Understanding entered into by Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He commended the U. K. authorities for supplying the intelligence that led to the first seizure and promised to sustain and strengthen the agreement. “I am pleased with the tremendous success in our foreign collaboration. Our relation with the UK under the Operation West Bridge has been quite exceptional and will be sustained. The more united law enforcement agencies are, the more disunited drug cartels will become” Giade declared.
The first consignment was sent through Emirate cargo flight number EK 783 with airway bill number 176-1360 5561 on November 20, 2009. A total of 120 pieces of heroin weighing 28kilogrammes were found hidden inside car shock absorbers packed in three wooden crates. A 45 year old clearing and forwarding agent Yekini Shittu at the cargo section of the airport is assisting narcotic investigators in the case.
 
The NDLEA Airport Commander, Alhaji Hamza Umar disclosed that internal surveillance activities by officers at the MMIA yielded positive result following the successful interception of the second consignment with airway bill number 706-21588792. It was declared as auto-parts from Lahore, Pakistan aboard Kenya airline flight KQ532 that arrived Nigeria on 23rd December 2009. When examination was conducted on the consignment of shock absorbers on December 31, 2009 pieces of drugs similar to the first seizure that tested positive to heroin weighing 28.25 kilogrammes were found in it. Nobody came forward to clear the second consignment. “We got intelligence on the shipment, monitored it and eventually intercepted it when nobody showed up to claim it” Hamza stated.  
 
kamoru Ayinde, an airport taxi driver whose name has been added to the Agency’s list of most wanted is believed to have link with a Pakistani based drug trafficking cartel. His last known residence is 25, Bale Street, Iyana Iyesi, Sango-Otta, Ogun State. The NDLEA authority has promised to unmask the faces of drug kingpins behind the illicit shipments with the commencement of intense investigation. The cartel has not been linked with any terrorist group.