NDLEA hits Lagos drug cartel, arrests senior agent, recruiter of drug couriers

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a of a 56-year-old trafficker, Lawal Lateef Oyenuga, who is allegedly a strong agent of a major cocaine syndicate in Lagos.

The spokesman for the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said Oyenuga, was on a mission to deliver 400grams of class A drug cocaine concealed in a pair of palm sandals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

He explained that the arrest of Oyenuga was followed by the swift arrest of a wanted notorious kingpin, Wasiu Sanni Gbolahan, popularly known as Teacher, who recruits mules for the cartel, adding that the operation dealt a major blow to the activities of the major cocaine syndicate in Lagos.

Babafemi in a statement explained that NDLEA operatives attached to the screening point of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos had on Thursday, November 24, intercepted Oyenuga with a pair of black palm sandals packed in the luggage he was going with to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airways flight.

“A thorough examination of the sandals revealed they were used to conceal two parcels of cocaine weighing 400 grams. This is barely a week after a 56-year-old widow and mother of four, Mrs. Ajisegiri Kehinde Sidika was arrested at the airport over her attempt to traffic 400 grams of cocaine concealed in her footwear to Makkah, Saudi Arabia on board a Qatar Airways flight.

“In his statement, Oyenuga claimed he was recruited to traffic the drug by Wasiu Sanni Gbolahan popularly known as Teacher, adding that he was first given some pellets of cocaine to swallow but when he couldn’t do that, then he was given the ones concealed in the palm sandals. He said he resorted to the criminal trade to raise money to pay an examination fee for his daughter who is in Senior Secondary School class 3.

“The agency’s database reveals Wasiu Sanni (Teacher) has been linked to some previous attempts to traffic cocaine to Saudi Arabia and Dubai, UAE. He was earlier named as the one who recruited a BRT driver, Bolajoko Muyiwa Babalola for Lagos socialite and owner of Adekaz Hotels, Alhaji Ademola Afolabi Kazeem (a.k.a Alhaji Abdallah Kazeem Muhammed) to traffic drugs to Dubai. Bolajoko was arrested on June 27 while taking 900 grams of cocaine to Dubai while Ademola Kazeem was nabbed on Thursday November 10, barely 10 days after he was declared wanted by NDLEA.

“A follow up operation in the early hours of Friday, November 25, led to the arrest of Teacher, who specialises in recruiting mules for drug barons in Lagos and its environs at his residence located in Ikorodu area of Lagos. The 64-year-old Wasiu Sanni Gbolahan is a housing and property agent, with seven children and four wives, one of whom is now late,” Babafemi explained,

In another follow up operation to the seizure of 1.10kg cannabis concealed in bottles of body cream going to Dubai on September 9, Babafemi said the actual owner of the consignment, Wordu Hopewell Chukwuemeka, who runs a boutique business in Port Harcourt, Rivers state was arrested in the Garden City on Thursday November 24.

He also said, operatives attached to NAHCO import shed of the Lagos airport on Tuesday November 22, intercepted a consolidated cargo from Johannesburg, South Africa via an Airpeace Airline flight.

“The cargo contained different items, including cloths, cereals, baby toys, drinks, and a set of two big black speakers, which were used to conceal 25 parcels of Loud variant of cannabis, with a gross weight of 5.5kg,” he said.

The NDLEA spokesman also said an attempt by an Organised Criminal Group to traffic 131kg of Ephedrine, a dominant precursor chemical for the production of Methamphetamine to Congo Kinshasa through the SAHCO export shed of the airport was foiled on  November 21, by NDLEA operatives in conjunction with Aviation Security officers of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, adding that two freight agents – Nwazuru Georgewill and Saheed Muritala – linked to the bid were arrested.