NDLEA arrests Lagos socialite, filmmaker on drug charges.
The agency said the year began with a series of high-profile drug arrests and seizures in Lagos, Kwara, Kano and Rivers states.
This was disclosed in a statement by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday.
NDLEA seizes 1,960kg of cannabis on Lagos beach, arrests six foreign nationals
NDLEA seizes 1,960kg of cannabis on Lagos beach, arrests six foreign nationals.
Details of the arrest
According to the statement, in Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested Alhaja Aishat Feyisara Ajoke Elediye, 61, a wanted drug lord, on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, at his residence in Okota area. This arrest followed the interception of a truck loaded with illegal drugs sent by his staff on the same day.
Alhaja Ajoke, known in drug circles as "Iya Ruka", had long concealed his true identity as he remained on the NDLEA's wanted list for running a drug cartel operating out of Mushin, Lagos.
His cover was blown when NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, intercepted a white Isuzu truck carrying 44 jumbo bags containing 1,540 kilograms of imported cannabis. The truck was driven by one of his staff, Abideen Adio, 41.
Following the interception, NDLEA operatives stormed his hideout at 33 Adebayo Oyewole Street, off Ago Palace Way, Okota, where they arrested him. On the surface, Alhaja Ajoke appears to be a businesswoman who imports fabrics and shoes from China, but behind this persona lies a large-scale illegal drug trafficking operation. She is also known as the Iyalaje of the Blessing Sisters, an influential women's club in Lagos.
On December 27, 2024, NDLEA agents arrested Emeka Emmanuel Mbadiwe, a US-trained filmmaker and motivational speaker, from his hotel room in Lekki.
According to Babafemi, Mbadiwe's arrest followed that of his partner, Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James, earlier in the day.
"James had been sent by Mbadiwe to collect a shipment of drugs from a warehouse in Ajao Estate, Ikeja. The shipment, which included 33 packages of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 17.30 kilograms, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) on December 24, 2024.
"It was concealed in large wooden crates and transported from the United States via a Delta Airlines flight," he explained.
In Kwara State, Babafemi said two women were arrested on Sunday, December 29, 2024, for preparing and selling drug-laced sweets to students.
"Khadijat Abdulraheem, a 24-year-old graduate, and Ayomide Morakinyo, a 20-year-old student of the University of Ilorin, were nabbed after NDLEA operatives discovered 42 cakes laced with the drug at their residence near Tanke University of Ilorin. road," he said.
Former Passport Blackmailer Arrested Again
The statement added that a former detainee, Sodade Sunday Eniola, was also arrested by operatives of the NDLEA's Tincan Command in June 2024, for drug trafficking, prosecuted and sentenced to four years in prison, and was re-arrested by officers of the agency's MMIA Strategic Command for passport extortion. "When he was sentenced at a federal court in Lagos on June 14, 2024, the trial judge gave him the opportunity to pay a fine of N750,000, which he paid and was released. ,
"However, in a series of operations in December 2024, NDLEA operatives at the Lagos Airport Export Hangar seized no fewer than 52 passports from various countries originating from shipments destined for Canada, Russia and other countries, concealed in shoe soles and food products.
Further investigations led to the arrest of four members of three syndicates involved in the racket.
"The arrested suspects are: Sodade Sunday Eniola; Ayinde Saheed Awwal; Salaudeen Afeez Ayode; and Sheriff Adebayo Bamigbade.
"The exhibits and suspects were handed over on Monday, December 30, 2024 to the Zonal Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Lagos for further investigation and possible prosecution," he said. Drug seizures and operations
The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy also disclosed that no fewer than 316,800 bottles of codeine syrup were found in two containers by NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Complex in Onne Rivers State during a joint examination of the consignment with men of the Nigerian Customs and other security agencies on Tuesday, December 31, 2024. According to Babafemi, the seizure follows credible intelligence processed by the Port. Harcourt Commandant of the agency. Also in Kano, Babafemi said that operatives on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, carried out a raid at Mafarki, Dan Dishe area of Dala LG, where they recovered 149,090 tablets of tramadol and exol-5 from a local trader, Ismail. Muhammad, 45
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