Cocaine concealed in palm kernel oil tins bound for the United Kingdom has been intercepted after a three-week intelligence operation exposing a Lagos kingpin with multiple arrests including a pastor, his wife, and a suspected bandits’ drug supplier.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, say the breakthrough began on March 11, 2026, when 3.10 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden inside tins of palm kernel extract were intercepted at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
Two suspects, Idris Olayiwola Amoo and Akinlami Akinsoji Adedoyin, were arrested, triggering a coordinated sting operation that led to the arrest of the sender, Ezemuwo Joel, who operated under a false identity.
Investigations subsequently uncovered the syndicate’s kingpin, 52-year-old King Arinze, arrested at a hideout in Isolo, Lagos. A raid on his warehouse at 11, Ola Ifa Street, Bucknor, led to the recovery of 886 tins prepared for drug concealment, sealing machines, tin openers, paint sprays, cannabis and other items. He reportedly confessed to draining the oil from the tins to conceal cocaine.
In Borno State, NDLEA operatives arrested 28-year-old Aisha Adamu along Gamboru Ngala Road with 4.3 kilogrammes of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis allegedly meant for bandit groups operating between Nigeria’s North-East and Chad.
Similarly, at Gbaji checkpoint along the Seme border in Lagos, Pastor Afolabi Hodonu and his wife, Success, were arrested with 11 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in their vehicle.
Their arrest followed that of a fake security agent, Sunday Samuel, earlier intercepted at the same checkpoint with 24.5 kilogrammes of skunk.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers intercepted a trailer marked RUW 947 XA along Namtari road, Yola South, conveying 48,000 tramadol pills. The driver, Abdulaziz Ismail Korede, and the intended recipient, Idris Adamu, were arrested.
Other operations recorded major seizures across states, including 15 kilogrammes of skunk in Osun State, 351 kilogrammes recovered from Itaogbolu forest in Ondo State, 28,600 tramadol capsules in Benue State, 1,378 kilogrammes of skunk in Edo State, and 45.6 kilogrammes recovered in Ibadan, Oyo State, where a suspect allegedly used her 11-year-old daughter for drug delivery.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
