By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Four drug barons have been arrested in Lagos by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over their connection with the seizure of cocaine worth N194.8 billion ($278.3 million).
On Monday, September 19, 2022, the Director of Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, disclosed that a major warehouse with 1.8tons (1,855 kilograms) of the illicit drug was busted by operatives of the agency in a secluded estate in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.
The statement said a Jamaican and the manager of the warehouse were among the four suspects arrested by the NDLEA in the well-coordinated and intelligence-led operation that lasted two days across different locations in Lagos State.
Kingpins of the cocaine cartel in custody include Soji Jibril, 69, an indigene of Ibadan, Oyo State; Emmanuel Chukwu, 65, who hails from Ekwulobia, Anambra state; Wasiu Akinade, 53, from Ibadan, Oyo state; Sunday Oguntelure, 53, from Okitipupa, Ondo state and Kelvin Smith, 42, a native of Kingston, Jamaica.
They are all members of an international drug syndicate that the Agency has been trailing since 2018, according to Mr Babafemi, who described the seizure as one of the biggest singular busts in its history.
Located at 6 Olukuola Crescent, Solebo estate, Ikorodu, the warehouse was raided on Sunday, September 18, 2022, while the barons were picked from hotels and their hideouts in different parts of Lagos between yesterday and today.
Preliminary investigation reveals that the class A drugs were warehoused in the residential estate from where the cartel was trying to sell them to buyers in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. They were stored in 10 travel bags and 13 drums.
Adedapo Adesanya