Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have captured two drug kingpins who were previously declared wanted.
The drug lords, identified as Ajiboye Samuel and community leader Alhaji Bashir Talba, were arrested in separate locations in Ogun and Lagos States on September 25th and 27th, respectively.
In a statement released on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, it was revealed that Samuel, known as “Na God,” had been wanted following a raid on his warehouse in the Mushin area of Lagos, where authorities seized 1,101 kilograms of Ghana Loud, a powerful strain of cannabis.
Babafemi explained that Samuel had been evading capture until he was finally apprehended at a bank in Ogun State.
He said, “On Wednesday, 25th September, operatives arrested wanted drug kingpin Ajiboye Samuel (a.k.a Na God), after 12 months of evasion, following the raid on his warehouse in the Akala area of Mushin, Lagos, where 1,101 kilograms of Ghana Loud were recovered on 4th September 2023. His arrest in Ogun State was the result of coordinated efforts by the Agency’s Directorate of Assets and Financial Investigation, which traced 20 bank accounts linked to the suspect and blocked them.”
In addition, the agency arrested the wives and the son of Alhaji Bashir Talba, a wanted community leader, following the discovery of 226.2kg of cannabis at their residences in Badagry on 18th September.
Babafemi stated, “Similarly, on Friday, 27th September, NDLEA operatives in Lagos took into custody a wanted community leader and Sarkin Yamma of Badagry, Alhaji Bashir Talba, after the arrest of his two wives, Hauwa and Asma’u, and son, Sadat, as well as the seizure of 226.2kg of cannabis at their homes.”
Babafemi also announced the arrests of two ex-convicts, Muhammad Machido and Zakari Buhari, in Katsina State. Machido was apprehended on the Kano-Katsina Highway while in possession of 51,000 opioid pills, and Buhari was arrested in Daura with 14 blocks of cannabis weighing 7kg.
“Buhari was initially arrested on February 8, 2024, and sentenced to 15 months in prison, with an option to pay a ₦15,000 fine, which he did. Similarly, Machido had previously been arrested on December 12, 2022, with 45kg of cannabis sativa and 2.5kg of tramadol, for which he received a two-year prison sentence,” Babafemi added.
In a related development, Babafemi disclosed that an automobile spare parts dealer, Ejiofor Chiwuzie, was arrested for attempting to export consignments of heroin and cannabis concealed in LED rechargeable lamps and metal sofa legs through the export shed at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
He said, “Chiwuzie was arrested on Tuesday, 24th September 2024, at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, where he sells automobile parts, following the seizure of his cargo at Lagos airport. The cargo, which was destined for Liberia, contained auto parts, rechargeable lamps, metal sofa legs, and electronics. Concealed within these items were 37 parcels of heroin weighing 1.10 kilograms and four blocks of loud, with a total weight of 1.20kg.”
Further efforts by drug trafficking networks to export consignments of cannabis, tramadol pills, co-codamol tablets, pentazocine injections, dihydrocodeine, and promethazine tablets to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Thailand, and Oman were thwarted by NDLEA officers.
The statement emphasized seizures made between September 23rd and 24th at courier companies in Lagos, including 2.3kg of cannabis hidden in a carton bound for Thailand and 749 grams of tramadol concealed in locally made footwear destined for Oman. Additional items seized included 60 ampoules of pentazocine injections intended for the United States, 200 co-codamol pills heading to Australia, and 700 tablets of dihydrocodeine and promethazine, along with 20 ampoules of pentazocine injections concealed in footwear intended for the UK.
In another operation, 9.7kg of cannabis sativa and 50 liters of “monkey tail” (a mixture of cannabis and dry gin) were recovered from one Florence Moses in the Badore area of Ajah, Lekki, Lagos.
In Kogi State, three suspects—Owolabi Dele, Ayodele Monday, and Olawale Ojo—were arrested by NDLEA operatives along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway while transporting 132 sacks of cannabis weighing 2,062.00kg in a Mercedes container truck from Osun State to Dei Dei in Abuja.
Additionally, Babafemi reported that a 57-year-old suspect, Benedict Simire, was arrested on Ayetoro Road, Kabba, while transporting 33.40kg of cannabis along with a pump-action gun and six cartridges on September 25th.
He also noted that NDLEA operatives from the Marine Command intercepted a boat equipped with two 40HP Yamaha engines carrying 71 bags of Ghana Loud, weighing 2,982kg, along Alfa Beach, Lekki, Lagos.
Babafemi said, “Men of the Nigerian Customs Service Western Marine Command assisted NDLEA officers in recovering the boat and the drugs after two suspects in the boat dived into the water.”
On September 25th, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Port Complex in Rivers State intercepted 1,500 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup, totaling 150,000 bottles, during a joint inspection of a 40-foot container with Nigerian Customs and other security agencies.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives seized 6,000 ampoules of pentazocine injections from 38-year-old Chukwudi Nwanoche at the former Minna city gate. Meanwhile, in Kano, 31-year-old Aminu Danmanya was arrested with 15,530 tramadol capsules at the Kano Residential Hotel on Katsina Road.
In Plateau State, a 58-year-old female suspect, Jummai Luka, was apprehended on September 27th near Jehovah’s Witness Junction in Kabong, Jos North LGA, while in possession of 12,000 tramadol pills. Additionally, in Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested 50-year-old Segun Asogba with 601kg of cannabis sativa and a Dane gun in Igangan on September 24th.
