Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have arrested a 48-year-old Chadian woman allegedly transporting illicit drugs, alcoholic beverages and other prohibited substances to suspected terrorists operating in the Lake Chad Islands.
The Acting Military Information Officer, Headquarters Joint Task Force (North-East), Operation Hadin Kai, Lt.-Col. Mohammed Goni, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday in Maiduguri.
Goni said the suspect, identified as Mrs Rachael Samuel, a Chadian national from Kelo in Chari-Baguirmi Province, Republic of Chad, was arrested during an intensive search operation conducted on Thursday along the Maiduguri–Monguno road in Borno.
According to him, troops intercepted a suspicious vehicle travelling towards Kwatan Doron Baga in Kukawa Local Government Area, where the suspect was found conveying the prohibited items.
He said preliminary investigations indicated that the recovered items were being transported to locations within the Lake Chad Islands, an area known to harbour terrorist elements.
The military spokesman listed the recovered exhibits to include seven compressed bundles of suspected Cannabis sativa weighing about 30 kilogrammes, two 10-litre containers of hydromercuric chloride, popularly known as “Suck and Die”, one carton containing 48 bottles of dry gin, and 61 bottles of herbal alcoholic beverages.
He added that other items recovered included one mobile phone, two Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards, personal belongings and an unspecified amount of cash.
Goni said the seized items have an estimated market value running into millions of naira.
He noted that the suspect remains in military custody, while the recovered exhibits have been secured pending their handover to the appropriate law enforcement agency for further investigation and possible prosecution.
The military reiterated its commitment to disrupting logistics networks sustaining terrorist activities in the North-East through sustained intelligence-driven operations.
