Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says it has taken into custody two wanted heads of transnational criminal organisations with multi-billion-naira worth of illicit drugs and assets seized from them after weeks of intelligence-led operations across the country and outside Nigeria.
A statement by the Director, Media & Advocacy Femi Babafemi the arrest of the wanted drug lords came on the heels of the interception of consignments of cocaine and heroin buried in the bellies of two traffickers heading to Paris, France and Doha, Qatar by NDLEA officers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
It states that Operatives at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos on Tuesday 10th October succeeded in taking into custody, Hakeem Babatunde Salami, the arrowhead of “Tajudeen Babatunde Abioye Transnational Criminal Organization” involved in the illicit trade of several narcotics including Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine, and Ephedrine between Nigeria, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Mozambique, and Europe.
He fled Nigeria to South Africa upon the arrest of a member of his syndicate, Suleiman Babatunde Oba who was arrested on August 25 over attempt to export 25.10kgs of ephedrine to South Africa.
It noted that Hakeem Babatunde Salami was however smoked out of hiding through partnership with South African authorities and other intelligence and investigative mechanisms. While some of his luxury vehicles have been seized and his home in Surulere Lagos sealed.
The Agency also arrested head of another cartel, Okafor Ikechukwu Williams (aka Jantu) and his wife, Okafor Ifeyinwa Grace at their hideout at 9 Awa Street, Ago Palace, Okota area of Lagos and recovered 27.566 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in a blue box and two sacks, ready for export to Europe and Asia.
NDLEA also arrested a drug trafficker, Nwofor Ejiogu Charles, 45, during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Doha after body scan revealed he ingested 75 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.653kgs.
Also the NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene -Lokoja-Abuja expressway on Tuesday 10th October intercepted a commercial bus coming from Lagos to Kano. A search of the bus led to the seizure of Four Million, Eight Hundred and Eighty Thousand US Dollars and Fifty-Seven Million Céfa, suspected to be counterfeits.
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Similarly , the Federal High Court in Sokoto state presided over by Justice Ahmad Mahmud sentenced an acting District Head, Alhaji Umar Mohammed (aka Dan Bala) to five and a half years in jail on four count charges of possession and dealing in 436.38kgs cannabis and 7kgs psychotropic drugs brought against him by NDLEA .
The NDLEA Operatives in Edo state on Wednesday 11th October stormed the Orue forest, Owan West LGA where they arrested Happy Akashili, 37, and Solomon Uwesue, 40 in a hut located inside a cannabis farm measuring 2.367308 hectares which was destroyed, with 92kgs already processed skunk recovered, while 49kgs of same substance were also seized at Ogbeturu camp.
It further states that the Commands across the country balanced their drug supply reduction operations with War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaigns to schools, markets, worship centres and communities.