The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 60-year-old drug kingpin who had been on its wanted list since 2019, ending a six-year manhunt.
In a statement on Sunday, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect was captured on July 13 at his hideout in Isheri, Lagos, after the agency intercepted one of his drug shipments.
Earlier that day, NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence, intercepted a white Toyota Sienna van on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway in Ilasamaja. A courier heading to Onitsha, Anambra State, was arrested, and a search with sniffer dogs uncovered 7.6kg of cocaine and 900g of methamphetamine concealed within the vehicle.
A follow-up raid on the kingpin’s residence yielded an additional 1.8kg of cocaine and 1.3kg of methamphetamine.
In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, NDLEA agents, in collaboration with Aviation Security personnel, intercepted 7,790 pills of tramadol and Rohypnol hidden in the luggage of an Italy-bound passenger via Istanbul. The suspect admitted purchasing the drugs for resale in Europe.
At the airport’s export shed, 17 parcels of cannabis (skunk), weighing 1.7kg, were discovered concealed in cereal packs bound for Pakistan. One suspect was arrested.
Elsewhere, NDLEA officers seized 45,000 tramadol pills from a 30-year-old suspect on the Onitsha–Enugu expressway. In Taraba State, two suspects were arrested in Gassol LGA with 10,000 tramadol capsules and a gram of cannabis.
