NDLEA Recovers N4.8bn Drugs From Wanted Billionaire’s Lagos Warehouse

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have recovered N4.8bn worth of opioids in a warehouse in Lagos State, intercepted $20m counterfeit notes in Abuja, and arrested a wanted teenage bandit in Sokoto State.

The agency made this known on Sunday in a statement by its Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

Babafemi noted that the multi-billion naira worth of illicit drugs were seized at a warehouse tucked amid the popular Alaba International Trade Fair Complex, in the Ojo area of Lagos.

“Recovered from the warehouse owned by a wanted billionaire drug baron, include 1.4 million pills of tramadol 225mg weighing 826kgs; 3.2 million pills of codeine with a gross weight of 3,360kgs; and 2,841 cartons of codeine syrup containing 284,100 bottles with 28,410 litres of the psychoactive substance, with a combined street value of N4,820,500,000 only.

“During the operation that lasted hours, a suspect, Paulinus Ojukwu, who is the Chief Security Officer to the wanted drug baron who parades as automobile spare parts dealer, was arrested and he is now assisting in the ongoing investigation,” Babafemi said.

Babafemi added that the NDLEA operatives on Friday intercepted $20m notes suspected to be counterfeit during a stop-and-search operation along Abaji-Lokoja Road, within the Federal Capital Territory.

The suspected fake notes were recovered from a bus coming from Lagos to Abuja, while the 53-year-old driver of the vehicle, Onyebuchi Nlededin, was arrested. The previous day, Thursday, August 17, Jude Ndubuisi, 52, was arrested with 2.2 kg of Methamphetamine during an operation at Kabusa village in Abuja.

The suspect was initially arrested with 20.75kg of cannabis on July 7, 2022, and was on court bail following his ongoing prosecution when he was nabbed for yet another drug crime.

Another raid of two notorious drug joints within the FCT, Dei Dei and Tora-Bora Hills, led to the recovery of 82.8kg skunk, 1.8kg Rohypnol and 1.2kg Diazepam last Wednesday.

“While a teenager, Boniface Odinakachukwu, 19, was apprehended with 99.4kg skunk at Isikwe Road, Achi in the Oji-River Local Government Area of Enugu State on Friday, August 18, a wanted teenage bandit, Aliyu Mohammed, 19, was arrested by the NDLEA operatives along the Illela- Sokoto Road with some wraps of skunk on Thursday, August 17. The suspect who is on the wanted list of the police has since been transferred to the police in Sokoto State for further investigation,” Babafemi added.