Dispatch Rider of Gonymble Logistics Arrested while Trying to Deliver ‘Laughing Gas’
A 27-year-old dispatch rider, Magaji Adamu, has been arrested for allegedly transporting multiple cartons of nitrous oxide, commonly known as “laughing gas,” last Monday in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Abuja.
Police say Adamu, a graduate of Gidan Waya College of Education, Kafanchan, Kaduna, was apprehended during a routine patrol.
Adamu, until arrest admitted to working as a dispatch rider for a logistics platform called Gonymble since December 2024.
He stated that this was his fourth time delivering the substance, which was always handed over to him by a man identified as Mr. Danladi.
According to Adamu, Mr. Danladi would call him and instruct him to pick up the packages near a police station in Jabi, Abuja, for delivery. Each delivery reportedly earned him N5,000.
Adamu, who recently relocated to Abuja in December, claimed he was initially unaware of the true nature of the substance. He said Danladi told him the gas was used in hospitals.
Police say Adamu led its officers to Danladi’s residence, where additional quantities were recovered.
Nitrous oxide, commonly used for medical sedation and food processing, can produce short-lived euphoria, giggling, hallucinations, and lightheadedness when inhaled. However, prolonged abuse can lead to serious health risks, including memory loss, depression, lowered blood pressure, oxygen deprivation, nerve damage, heart complications
Although Nigeria lacks official data on fatalities linked to laughing gas abuse, the UK’s Office for National Statistics reported that between 2001 and 2020, nitrous oxide was linked to 56 deaths, with 45 occurring after 2010.
PIJAlance contacted Toni Salami, one of the Executives of Gonymble Logistics, to confirm Adamu’s arrest via a telephone call.
Upon learning about our inquiry, Salami abruptly ended the telephone call and never answered it again in subsequent trials.
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