NDLEA DISMANTLES ABUJA DRUG BUNKS, ARRESTS 132, RECOVERS 220KG ILLICIT SUBSTANCES. (PHOTOS). #PRESS RELEASE.

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 NDLEA dismantles Abuja drug bunks, arrests 132, recovers 220kg illicit substances  -Marwa hails operation, vows to sustain crackdown in FCT, other states  In a non-stop two-week offensive action against traffickers and dealers, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully dismantled several drug joints and bunks within and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja where a total of 132 suspects were arrested and 220 kilograms of assorted illicit substances recovered. The wel-coordinated raids jointly conducted by the Agency's Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) and the FCT Strategic Command from llth to 25th April 2026 were launched to dismantle illicit drug hubs contributing to substance abuse, trafficking, and associated criminal activities in the capital city after weeks of intelligence and surveillance across all identified hotspots. Areas where notorious drug joints were raided, dismantled and suspects...

HONG KONG ACTIVIST JIMMY LAI TO RECEIVE SENTENCING FOLLOWING NATIONAL SECURITY CONVICTION. (PHOTO).


Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai to receive sentencing following national security conviction
      
 Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday following his conviction in a high-profile national security case that has drawn global scrutiny and highlighted Beijing’s tightening control over dissent in the territory.
Lai, 78, faces the possibility of a life sentence. He is one of China’s most prominent critics and has been a vocal advocate for press freedom in Hong Kong. International human rights groups and foreign governments have criticized the case as politically motivated, warning it signals a shrinking space for free expression in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Advocates for press freedom say the verdict will have far-reaching consequences beyond Lai himself.
Lai has spent more than 1,800 days in custody, much of it in solitary confinement, raising concerns about his health. Hong Kong authorities maintain that he has received proper medical care and that his isolation was requested. He was first arrested in 2020, shortly after Beijing enacted a sweeping national security law following months of anti-government protests in 2019. Authorities argue the law was needed to restore stability and insist Lai’s prosecution is unrelated to press freedom.
The charges against Lai include conspiring to publish seditious articles and conspiring to lobby foreign governments to impose sanctions or other measures against China and Hong Kong. His conviction followed an 855-page verdict citing his interactions with senior U.S. officials, including meetings with former Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, national security adviser John Bolton, and members of Congress during the 2019 protests. Lai has pleaded not guilty.
Also scheduled for sentencing on Monday are six former Apple Daily journalists and two activists who had testified against Lai. Many of them pleaded guilty in hopes of reduced sentences. Lai had previously been convicted on separate charges, including fraud and unlawful assembly, and in December 2022, he was sentenced to nearly six years in prison in the fraud case.
This trial marks one of the most prominent applications of Hong Kong’s national security law, and observers say the outcome will send a critical message about the future of independent journalism and dissent in the territory.

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