NDLEA Arrests Osun Monarch, Chadian National, and NYSC Member in Drug Bust

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested Ba’ale Ige Babatunde, the head of the Akarabata community in Ile-Ife, Osun State, for alleged drug trafficking. The 50-year-old monarch was found in possession of fresh cannabis plants weighing 5kg.

In a separate operation, NDLEA agents raided the Lagos base of a high-profile cocaine syndicate led by a couple, Agbakoba Mmadu and Agbakoba Chinwe, along with their associate, Okoye Maryjane. Large consignments of cocaine intended for export and local distribution were recovered during the raid.

NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, stated, “The raid followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance on the syndicate notorious for packaging, distributing, and trafficking cocaine within and outside Nigeria. The 54-year-old Agbakoba Mmadu was arrested at Ago Palace Way, Okota, while his wife, Agbakoba Chinwe, 39, and their stash keeper, Okoye Maryjane, 31, were nabbed at Plot 2205, Eugene Ndubisi Close, Lilly Estate, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, on July 3, 2024.”

The operation resulted in the seizure of seven parcels of cocaine weighing 7.652 kilograms from Mmadu, and 122 compressed pellets of the same drug weighing 2.42kg from Ijeoma and Ifeoma at Lilly Estate. The total seizure amounted to 10.1 kilograms, valued at over N2.1 billion.

In another operation, NDLEA operatives in Benue State intercepted a consignment of 350 grams of cocaine concealed in an MP3 speaker at a checkpoint along Enugu road, Otukpo, on July 4. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the owner, 25-year-old Odeh Anthony, at Flight motor park in Otukpo.

Additionally, NDLEA officers on a stop-and-search operation along Ngurore-Yola road in Adamawa State arrested Yves Gali, a Chadian national, in a commercial bus coming from Kano to Yola. Gali was found with a loudspeaker concealing 20 compressed blocks and nine plastic containers of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, weighing 5.200kg.

In Kano, a youth corps member, Yusuf Abdulrahman, 25, was arrested at Corpers Lodge, Sumaila, with 1.250kg of Loud on July 3.

During a raid on Ikota forest in Ifedore LGA, Ondo State, NDLEA operatives arrested Monday Ali, 49, and Jimoh Alewi, 37. They destroyed 42,500kg of cannabis on 17 hectares of farmland and recovered 73.5kg of the substance for prosecution during a five-day operation that ended on July 1.

In Abuja, NDLEA operatives arrested Sanusi Mamman, 28, and Usaini Ibrahim, 20, along Abaji-Gwagwalada road on July 8. They were found with 1,132 bottles of codeine syrup, 13,540 pills of tramadol, 50,000 pills of diazepam, and 59 pills of Rohypnol.