NDLEA arrests Lagos socialite, filmmaker on drug charge

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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