In Nigeria, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have seized 1.8 tons (1,855 kilograms) of cocaine at a warehouse in a secluded estate in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.
The seized drug is said to be worth more than Two Hundred and Seventy-Eight Million Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($278, 250,000) equivalent to about One Hundred and Ninety-Four Billion, Seven Hundred and Seventy-Five Million (N194, 775,000,000) Naira in street value.
The NDLEA arrested four Nigerian drug barons, Messrs Soji Jibril, Emmanuel Chukwu, Wasiu Akinade, Sunday Oguntelure, and a Jamaican, Kelvin Smith, along with the warehouse manager. They are all members of an international drug syndicate that the NDLEA has been trailing since 2018.
The Director of Media for NDLEA further revealed that the warehouse is located at 6 Olukuola crescent, Solebo estate, Ikorodu.
Babafemi confirmed that the warehouse was raided on Sunday 18th September 2022, while the barons were picked from hotels and their hideouts in different parts of Lagos between Sunday night and Monday 19th September.
He said: “Preliminary investigation reveals that 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.”
Recall that the NDLEA recently announced the arrest of Chief Afam Mallinson Emmanuel Ukatu, an alleged billionaire drug baron behind the N3 billion Tramadol deal linked to suspended Nigeria super-cop, Abba Kyari.
The NDLEA recently has rejuvenated its operations across the country and increased its tempo in its fight against drug trafficking and consumption and other related crimes with an increased number of seizures and arrests, especially the high-profile ones.