The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has declared popular prophetess and founder of Christ Power Adoration Ministries, Faith Ugochi based in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital wanted. Also declared wanted is a celebrity couple, Igho Ubiribo and Danielle Simba Allen for recruiting teenage girls into drug trafficking while they serve as the arrowheads of an international syndicate operating from Los Angeles, USA.
This is contained in a statement signed by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi this Sunday.
Babafemi said the lid was blown off the cartel when NDLEA operatives at the NAHCO import shed of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos intercepted a consignment of 32.70 kilogrammes of Loud, a strong variant of Cannabis concealed in cartons of used wears on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. A freight agent, Ukoh Ifeanyi Oguguo was immediately arrested while further investigations led to the arrest of four more suspects, namely Chikodi Favour, Obiyom Shalom Chiamaka, Nnochiri Chidinma Promise and Edward Omatseye also known as Montana.
Also Read: Drug Trafficking: NDLEA intercepts heroin in deep freezers, arrests Ex-Boko Haram fighter, 35 others
The 15-year-old Favour was the first sales girl to be arrested at a fuel station in the Ajah area of Lagos. She thereafter led the operatives to a duplex accommodation around the Ikate area of Lekki, which was later discovered to be a rented apartment by the criminal group purposely for four young girls that the syndicate uses for marketing and distribution of illicit drugs.
Another girl, Shalom who is a fresh graduate of Agricultural Science from Rivers State University of Science and Technology was picked from the house alongside Favour.
During their preliminary interviews, it was learnt that the syndicate rented another building used as a drugs warehouse inside Richmond Estate, Lekki.
By the time operatives located the house, it was discovered that other members of the syndicate had broken into the store and carted away bags of illicit substances.
However, some illicit drug paraphernalia including sealing machines, bloating machines and packaging bags were recovered from the warehouse. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Edward Omatseye at his residence around the Lekki area. Edward confessed during the interview to be working for Igho and his wife, Danielle, who is identified as the overall head of the criminal group.
The investigation was able to establish that Favour and Shalom were recruited as salesgirls in the illicit drug trade by Prophetess Faith Ugochi of Christ Power Adoration Ministries, using her church platform to recruit teenage girls brought to her for help, on behalf of the celebrity couple, Igho Ubiribo also known as Tiny and Danielle Simba Allen, also known as Dani who is the owners of the business, while Edward Omatseye coordinates the illicit drug trade activities for them in Nigeria, with Nnochiri Chidinma Promise as representative of Ben Cargo Limited, a freight company responsible for the shipment of illicit consignments into the country.
While Nnochiri Chidinma Promise and Edward Omatseye have already been charged to court and are currently facing trial at the Federal High Court, Lagos alongside Ben Cargo Limited which has been linked to two previous drug seizures and also involved in the current case, several attempts to get Prophetess Faith Ugochi, Igho Ubiribo and Danielle Simba Allen submit themselves for questioning have proved abortive.
A letter of invitation sent to Prophetess Faith Ugochi of Christ Adoration Ministries, No. 27 Anozie Street, Mile 2, Diobu, Port Harcourt, Rivers State on November 28, 2022, was received and acknowledged by her mother, with whom she runs the Church. The letter was followed with a reminder on January 9, 2023, after a long wait.
In the same vein, letters of invitation were also extended to Igho Ubiribo and Danielle Simba Allen. A reminder was also sent when the couple did not show any readiness to respond to the first invitation. While Prophetess Ugochi fled her home and went into hiding but continued her prophetic ministration on Facebook, the duo of Igho and Danielle initially sent a legal representation to ask for another time to honour the invitation, they have since gone incommunicado.
Curiously, they hurriedly moved all funds traced to their company Lasgidi Backwood Limited where all proceeds from the sales of illicit drugs were deposited into a private account of one Victor Imagoro.
The Agency has since blocked the sum of Eighty Million Naira (N80,000,000) traced to the account and obtained a court order to seize all properties including a fuel station linked to the suspects in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
The NDLEA has further sought and obtained an order of the Federal High Court Lagos to declare wanted the celebrity couple, Ubiribo Igho and Danielle Allen, as the
arrowheads of the illicit trade as well as Prophetess Faith Ugochi, who recruits teenage girls as sales representatives for the duo.
Meanwhile, the Agency in collaboration with other stakeholders including the Customs Service on Friday, March 31 conducted a joint examination of two containers marked TRHU 4758549 and TRHU 6936803 where 143,800,000 (One Hundred and Forty-Three Million Eight Hundred Thousand) tablets of Tramadol 225mg were discovered in 720 cartons weighing 10.3tons (10,386 kilogrammes). The opioid pills, which were mixed with cartons of sweets were imported from India. The interception followed credible intelligence and the cooperation of sister agencies.
Similarly, officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations, DOGI, have intercepted at a courier firm a cargo of 1.5 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in a carton declared to contain hair cream, shampoo, hair rollers and burners, going to London, UK.
In Kaduna State, operatives on Monday, March 27 raided Dan Wata village, Soba LGA where they arrested one 33-year-old Abdurrashid Musa with 142.8 kilogrammes of Cannabis while the principal suspect, Ibro Danwata is still at large. Another 35-year-old suspect, Shamsu Abdullahi also known as Waja was arrested the previous day during a follow-up operation at Rigasa Kaduna after he had abandoned 80,000 tablets of Diazepam weighing 13.4 kilogrammes and escaped arrest earlier.
No less than 63 bags of Cannabis Sativa weighing 600 kilogrammes stored in a house at Okpe village in Akoko-Edo LGA in Ondo State were recovered on Friday, March 31 when operatives raided the area, while a raid of a warehouse owned by one Shehi Mallam at tomatoes market, Dei Dei in Abuja same day led to the seizure of 80 sacks of Cannabis Sativa weighing 842.4 kilogrammes.
In Cross River State, 12,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg were seized from a 46-year-old female passenger, Talatu Sale Adamu, when NDLEA officers intercepted the commercial bus she was travelling in along Ogoja-Katsina Ala Road on Monday, March 27.
While a suspect, Abraham Alaigwu was arrested at Slaughter, Trans-Amadi area of Port Harcourt, Rivers state with 91.7 kilogrammes of Cannabis on Thursday, March 39, a total of 228 kilogrammes of the same substance was seized from 35-year-old Ayodele Osuya in a Toyota Camry car around Quarter Guard area of Akure, Ondo State.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
