Operatives of the Nationwide Drug Legislation Enforcement Company (NDLEA) have dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate that hid cocaine in tins of palm kernel oil for export to the UK, resulting in the arrest of a suspected kingpin in Lagos.
A press release by the spokesman of the company, Femi Babafemi, stated the three-week operation started on March 11, 2026, when NDLEA officers on the Murtala Muhammed Worldwide Airport, Ikeja, intercepted 3.1 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in tins of palm kernel extract on the export shed.
He revealed that two suspects, Idris Amoo and Akinlami Adedoyin, had been arrested in reference to the cargo.
A follow-up sting operation on April 2 led to the arrest of the sender, Ezemuwo Joel, who was working underneath a false id. His arrest uncovered the alleged chief of the syndicate, recognized as King Arinze, 52, who was subsequently apprehended at his hideout within the Isolo space of Lagos.
Babafemi stated NDLEA operatives later raided the suspect’s warehouse in Bucknor, Isolo, the place they recovered 886 tins ready for drug concealment, together with industrial instruments together with a sealing machine, tin openers, paint sprays, and 52 grammes of hashish. The suspect reportedly confessed to draining oil from the tins to hide cocaine.
In a separate operation in Borno State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 28-year-old girl, Aisha Adamu, alleged to be a provider of illicit medicine to bandit {groups} working throughout the North-east and elements of Chad. She was intercepted alongside Gamboru Ngala street with 4.3 kilogrammes of Colorado, an artificial pressure of hashish.
In the meantime, a pastor of the Celestial Church of Christ, Agonvi Sea Seashore, Badagry, Pastor Afolabi Hodonu, and his spouse, Success Hodonu, had been arrested on the Gbaji checkpoint in Lagos final Thursday, with NDLEA officers recovering 11 kilogrammes of skunk hid in hidden compartments of their automobile.
Babafemi stated their arrest adopted the sooner apprehension of a suspected faux safety agent, Sunday Samuel, who was intercepted on the identical checkpoint final Monday with 24.5 kilogrammes of skunk.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck conveying 48,000 tablets of tramadol alongside Namtari street in Yola South. The driving force, Abdulaziz Korede, was arrested, whereas a subsequent operation led to the arrest of the supposed recipient, Idris Adamu.
Babafemi stated different operations throughout the nation led to a number of arrests and seizures. In Osun State, a 60-year-old girl was arrested with 15 kilogrammes of skunk in Osogbo, whereas in Ondo State, operatives recovered 351 kilogrammes of skunk from a forest in Akure.
In Benue State, a 66-year-old suspect was arrested with 28,600 capsules of tramadol in Aliade, whereas in Edo State, NDLEA operatives recovered 1,378 kilogrammes of skunk from a warehouse in Egbanke neighborhood.
Equally, in Oyo State, a suspected drug supplier, Ayantola Omodunmomi, was arrested in Ibadan, the place 45.6 kilogrammes of skunk had been recovered. The company stated she used her 11-year-old daughter to distribute illicit medicine.
The NDLEA additionally stated its Warfare In opposition to Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation marketing campaign continued nationwide, with consciousness programmes carried out in faculties throughout Oyo, Lagos, Kano, Anambra, and Zamfara states.
Chairman and Chief Government Officer of the company, Buba Marwa, counseled officers throughout numerous instructions for the arrests and seizures.
“These profitable operations are a testomony to the company’s evolving intelligence capabilities and our unwavering dedication to choking the provision traces of drug cartels,” he stated.
By Michael Olugbode, Abuja
Times Nigeria