1.8 tons (1,855 kg) of the illegal drug were seized after NDLEA agents raided a warehouse in a remote estate in the Ikorodu neighborhood of Lagos, valuing the haul at over $278,000,000, or over N194,775,000,000 in Naira.
At least four drug lords, including a Jamaican and the warehouse manager, were arrested in a two-day, well-coordinated operation spanning many locations in Lagos state, according to a statement released by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA, on Monday.
Cocaine cartel leaders currently in detention include men like Soji Jibril, 69, from Ibadan, Oyo state; Emmanuel Chukwu, 65, from Ekwulobia, Anambra state; Wasiu Akinade, 53, from Ibadan, Oyo state; Sunday Oguntelure, 53, from Okitipupa, Ondo state; and Kelvin Smith, 42, from Kingston, Jamaica. The Agency has been following these group of people since 2018 because they are all part of an international narcotics ring.
The warehouse was raided on September 18th, 2022, at 6 Olukuola crescent, Solebo estate, Ikorodu, and the barons were apprehended at hotels and other hiding places across Lagos on the night of September 18th and the morning of September 19th.
Evidence gathered thus far indicates that the residential estate was used by the cartel as a distribution center for class A drugs destined for markets in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. There were ten suitcases and thirteen drums used to transport them.
The Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Ret.), praised the officers and men of the Agency involved in the extensive investigation, including those of the American Drug Enforcement Administration, (US-DEA), and said the bust is a historic blow to the drug cartels and a strong warning that they will all go down if they fail to realize that the game has changed.
