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NDLEA Declares Couple Wanted, Arrests 4 Cartel Members Over Cocaine Seizures

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A couple, Kazeem Omogoriola Owoalade (alias Abdul Qassim Adisa Balogun) and Rashidat Ayinke Owoalade (alias Bolarinwa Rashidat Ayinke), who runs a cocaine cartel from India, has been declared wanted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), following the arrest of four members of the syndicate in Lagos where a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) was recovered and two houses already traced to them sealed for possible forfeiture to the Federal Government.

Two members of the syndicate: Imran Taofeek Olalekan and Ishola Isiaka Olalekan, were arrested on April 3, 2024 following their bid to export 3.40kg cocaine on a Qatar Airlines flight going to Oman through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

While Imran was the courier conveying the drug consignment to Oman, Ishola recruited him for the head of the cartel, which investigation has now revealed to be Alhaji Kazeem Omogoriola Owoalade, whose Indian residence permit bears Abdul Qassim Adisa Balogun based in India. Efforts to dismantle his network in Nigeria paid off after five weeks of surveillance and follow-up operations when another member of the syndicate, Hamed Abimbola Saheed, who works directly with the baron was arrested on Tuesday, May 14 at Abule Egba area of Lagos.

A statement signed by NDLEA Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, said it was indeed Saheed who lodged Imran in a hotel a day before his aborted trip to Oman and equally dropped him and Ishola at the Lagos Airport the day they were arrested.

“During a search of Hamed house, NDLEA operatives recovered some phenacetine, a cutting agent for Cocaine, weighing 900 grams. He confessed that the recovered substance was what was left of the consignment Imran was taking to Oman the day he was arrested.

“His arrest led to a follow-up operation at the home of the Owoalade couple at 20 Eyiaro street, Ogudu Orioke, Lagos where another suspect was arrested and a new model Toyota RAV4 SUV marked FKJ-773 JJ belonging to Rashidat and additional 400 grams of Cocaine recovered in addition to already prepared suitcases to be used for illicit drug concealment, digital weighing scales and other paraphernalia,” Babafemi stated.

In the same vein, NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI), attached to a courier firm in Lagos on Wednesday, May 15 intercepted two parcels, containing Cocaine and Amphetamine concealed in steel bolts and shea butter. While the cocaine weighing 587 grams, was concealed in eight steel bolt screws going to China, the Amphetamine consignment packed in vape pens and hidden in shea butter was going to the United Kingdom.


Also, attempt by Emeka Nwadiaro (a.k.a Mega) to export 3.6kg Loud, a strain of cannabis concealed in 36 water flasks to Dubai, UAE was thwarted at a logistic company in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Thursday, May 16, while a swift follow-up operation led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Emeka Nwadiaro in Onitsha, Anambra State same day.

While NDLEA operatives in Lagos intercepted a mercedes benz bus loaded with 840kg cannabis and arrested the driver, Samuel Henry, at Olojo in Ojo LGA, Lagos State, another suspect, Lawal Adam, was nabbed along Otukpo Road, Aliade, Benue State on Friday, May 17, with 75,000 pills of opioids including tramadol and exol-5.

“Two suspects: Olisa Etisi, 32, and Jonathan Umeh, 25, were arrested along Owerri – Onitsha road, Imo state following the discovery by NDLEA operatives of a big gas cyclinder used to conceal six blocks of Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 3.85kg.

“In Borno state, 70-year-old Adamu Mohammed was arrested at Mbulamel, Biu LGA on Thursday 16th May with 2kg cannabis and 33.55grams of diazepam, while Gaddafi Sani, 27, was arrested with 30 kilograms of cannabis along Abuja-Kaduna road, Kaduna.


“In Yobe state, a consignment of 91.1kg opioids and 13kg cannabis going to Maiduguri, Borno state, was recovered from hidden compartments of a petrol tanker along Potiskum-Damaturu road by NDLEA officers who arrested the driver, Ismaila Ali.

“No less than four suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure of 2,025 pieces of improvised explosive devices (IED) materials intercepted in a Toyota hummer bus marked AGL 905 XX by NDLEA officers along Agaie – Lapai road, Niger state. While the duo of Abdulrauf Shitu Adeyemi, 46, and Asmiyu Rahim, 45, conyeying the IED materials were arrested on the spot, follow up operations led to the arrest of Husaini Abdullahi, 25, at Sokoto main market, Sokoto and Nazifi Abdullahi, 37, at Naibawa Motor Park, Kano on Friday 17th May. The Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has directed that all four suspects and the explosive materials be transferred to the appropriate security agency for further investigation. In another operation, Muhammad Lawal, 42, was nabbed at Central Market Motor Park, Katsina State with 1,000 Ampoules of Pentazocine injection.


“A total of 105kg cannabis was on Friday 17th May recovered from a house at Obola community, Owan West LGA, Edo state and a suspect, Gloria Oris arrested when NDLEA officers raided the area. In Kwara state, two suspects: Abdulganiyu Karaman, 55, and Sunday Abel, 37, were on Saturday 18th May arrested with 83kg cannabis and tramadol at Boriya, Baruten LGA, and Offa respectively.
With the same vigour, the various commands of the Agency across the country continued with the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaign in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitisation lecture for students and teachers of Government Girls Science secondary school, Malumfashi and Government Girls Science Secondary School, Daudawa, Katsina; Government Girls Science College, Tunga Magajiya Rijau LGA, Niger state; students and teachers of St. Theresa’s College Oke-Ado, Ibadan, Oyo state; students of Government Girls Secondary School, Tudun Wada, Kano; students of Dein secondary school, Imobi secondary school and St. Columbas Grammar School, Agbor, Delta State.

“While commending the officers and men of the MMIA, Rivers, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Yobe, Borno, Niger, Benue, Kwara, Imo, and Edo Commands of the Agency as well as those of DOGI for their outstanding feats in the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) said the efforts have further affirmed the cardinal role of NDLEA in the security architecture of the country. He equally applauded their counterparts in all the commands across the country for intensifying their WADA advocacy lectures to create a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities,” the statement added.

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Ogun Amotekun raids human trafficking camp, arrests 16 sex workers

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Operatives of the Ogun State Security Network Agency, otherwise called Amotekun Corps, on Wednesday raided a sex trafficking camp in Ifo Local Government Area of the state, leading to the arrest of 16 suspects.

Recall that the suspects were apprehended at their place of business, Railway Line Hotel, located along Old Bank Road in Ifo.

The suspects are Anabell Udo, Ubong Rejoice, Edaefe Sharon, Godwin Bassey, Okon Lovett, Eden Miracle, Monday Angel, Marvelous Samuel, Edet Nice, and Asukwo Gift.

Others include Effiong Joy, Effiong Blessing, Asukwo Faith, UK Saviour, Andrew Ella, and Eden Joy.

The state commandant of the corps, Commander Alade Adedigba, while parading the suspects at the command’s headquarters in Abeokuta, said they are between the ages of 12 and 29.

Adedigba disclosed that the suspects were arrested at about 6:15 am on Wednesday following an intelligence report received on Saturday.

The commandant revealed that 14 of the girls were trafficked from Akwa Ibom, while the others came from Cross River and Delta states.

He said, “We received intelligence reports on the 8th of this month, and based on that, we have been processing the intelligence. At about 6:15 am today, we were able to arrest 16 of them, ranging between 12 and 29 years of age.

“They were all arrested at a venue, Railway Line Hotel, Old Bank Bus Stop, in Ifo town. The main suspect is Mrs Eden Joy. She was the one who trafficked all these individuals, but in her statement, she mentioned that the owner of the hotel, one Mrs Okutoro Yemisi, aged 60, is her boss.”

According to the commander, during interrogation, the victims confessed that when they were brought from their various locations to Ifo, they were made to swear an oath while naked, with parts of their hair cut for rituals, which was why they felt unable to escape.

Some of the items recovered included a sum of N819,600, various types of drugs, a carton of condoms, energy enhancers, and packs of tissue paper, among others.

The suspects also revealed that tissue paper used by their clients was collected and kept by their boss.

“These victims also made us understand that most of the tissue paper used by customers is usually kept and handed over to the trafficker for some other purposes, ” Adedigba said.

“So, for those who patronise individuals like this, you need to be very careful for your own safety and security.”

While lamenting that the suspects are young people who should be in school but are instead held in a hidden location for financial gain, he warned that the state would not tolerate any form of lawlessness, indiscipline, or anything that could threaten security.

He appreciated members of the public for their support and timely information, adding that the suspects would be transferred to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, for further investigation

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Two Suspected Drug Peddlers Excrete 125 Wraps Of Heroin At Lagos, Port Harcourt Airports

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Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have foiled attempts by two drug kingpins to smuggle heroin into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and the Port Harcourt International Airport.

The traffickers were said to have swallowed the illicit substances in a desperate bid to evade detection, but were intercepted by NDLEA operatives and placed under excretion observation, leading to the recovery of a combined total of 125 wraps of heroin.

NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

He said one of the arrested traffickers, Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus was apprehended at the Port Harcourt airport on Sunday, 2nd February 2025.

The 30-year-old suspect is accused of also operating under the alias Kargbo Mohamed Foday using a Sierra Leonean passport.

NDLEA officers caught him during the inward clearance of a Qatar Airways flight from Doha via Abuja, saying a body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, leading to a tense waiting game as he was placed under observation, Babafemi stated.

“In five separate excretions, he expelled 62 wraps of heroin weighing 1.348 kilogrammes,” he said.

“Sylvanus, a seasoned trafficker who alternates between his Nigerian and Sierra Leonean identities, reportedly shuttles between Thailand, Pakistan, Iran, and West Africa, ferrying drugs across international borders. He confessed to abandoning his clothing and shoe business in 2017 to go full-time into drug trafficking,” he explained.

The NDLEA spokesman identified the second kingpin as James Herbert Chinoso, 48, saying he was arrested on Saturday, 1st February, at the Lagos airport upon his arrival from Madagascar via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“NDLEA officials, acting on intelligence, subjected him to a body scan that exposed his desperate attempt to conceal heroin internally. Under strict surveillance, Chinoso excreted 63 wraps of heroin, weighing 909 grams. He admitted that financial hardship following the collapse of his phone accessories business in Liberia drove him into the illicit trade,” he added.

Two drug kingpins excrete 125 wraps of heroin at Lagos, Port Harcourt airports

– As NDLEA intercepts Colorado, Loud, Tramadol consignments in gas cylinder, others in Kano, Kogi; seizes Canada-bound opioids

Read more at:https://t.co/DnUnpJpeRX

— NDLEA NIGERIA (@ndlea_nigeria) February 9, 2025

In a series of other operations, the anti-narcotic agency made more shocking discoveries.

In Lagos, on Thursday, 6th February, officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted two parcels of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United States and destined for Lagos.

The consignment, weighing 2.82 kilogrammes, was seized at a courier firm. In another operation at a different logistics company, officers intercepted 80 ampoules of pentazocine injection, weighing 225 grams, concealed in cartons bound for Canada.

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Crime

Terrorists abduct six teenage girls in midnight raid on Niger community

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At least six teenage girls, aged 15 to 17, have been kidnapped by armed terrorists during a house-to-house raid in Pandogari Community, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.


The attack occurred around midnight on Wednesday when the assailants stormed the community, killing a local vigilante, Aliyu Aminu, before abducting the girls.

According to reports, the heavily armed terrorists infiltrated the area in large numbers, entering from the Birnin Gwari axis through Mamman Kontagora Technical College, Pandogari.


Sources indicate that the abducted girls were later taken to Kwangel Forest.

This marks the third attack on the community within a week.

Residents claim that the surge in attacks follows negotiations between the Kaduna State Government and some armed groups, arguing that the agreements reached have not worked in their favor, leaving them vulnerable to further assaults.

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