Ten days after he was declared wanted, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested fleeing Lagos socialite and owner of Adekaz Hotels, Ademola Afolabi Kazeem, also known as Abdallah Kazeem Muhammad over offences bordering on exportation and trafficking of illicit drugs as well as money laundering.
In a statement signed by the Agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the wanted drug kingpin was uncovered as the sponsor of some traffickers arrested by anti-narcotics operatives in their recent attempt to export cocaine to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, UAE and other destinations outside Nigeria.
The search for him however paid off on Thursday, November 10 when he was successfully taken into custody where he is currently being interviewed.
His dealings were blown open after the arrest of one of his mules, Bolujoko Muyiwa Babalola, who is a Lagos BRT driver on June 27 at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, when he named Ademola Kazeem, as the owner of the 900grams of cocaine he ingested.
Following Adekaz’s failure to honour invitations sent to him, the Agency approached a Federal High Court in Lagos with three prayers: to attach and seal his identified properties in choice areas of Lagos Island and Ibadan; declare him wanted and block his bank account with a cash balance of Two Hundred and Seventeen Million Naira (N217,000,000.00), all of which were granted.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives also arrested a businesswoman, Okefun Darlington Chisom over her links with two Pakistani nationals, namely Asif Muhammed, 45 and Hussain Naveed, 57, arrested at the Lagos airport with 8 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a sound system while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Lahole, Pakistan via Doha on Saturday, November 5.
An automobile parts dealer, Omeje Oliver, also known as David Mark who was arrested on Monday, October 31 in Enugu where he fled to after abandoning his business at Aspanda, Trade Fair Complex Lagos since April 16 in connection with the seizure of 600 grams of heroin concealed inside soles of lady’s footwears going to Liberia, has been linked to another drug seizure.
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A further look at the Agency’s database reveals that Omeje was also involved in a case of 1.580-kilogramne Methamphetamine that was seized from one Victor Nwobodo Friday, who was arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA during his aborted trip to Jakarta, Indonesia on February 6, 2018. Charges have been filed against the suspect at the Federal High Court Lagos in respect of the old seizure in addition to that of the recent one.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives attached to the SAHCO import shed of the MMIA Lagos have intercepted another consignment of Tramadol from Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 6 cartons comprising 497,900 tablets of Royal Tramaking brand of Tramadol 225mg with a gross weight of 304.90 kilogrammes were recovered after a joint examination by stakeholders on Friday, November 11.
Operatives in Ogun State, South-West Nigeria in the early hours of Saturday, November 12 raided a warehouse at Ogere area of Ikene LGA where they seized 273 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 3,533 kilogrammes (3.533 tons) from a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Jesutofunmi Solomon. This came on the heels of the seizure of 176 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa at Ogere Trailer Park on Wednesday, November 9 and the destruction of 15 hectares of cannabis plantation in Gbamgbam area of the state.
In the same vein, operatives in Osun State, South-West Nigeria have raided a cannabis plantation at Obada sawmill, Owena Ijesa in Oriade LGA where they destroyed 1.2 hectares, recovered 2,823 kilogrammes of processed cannabis sativa and arrested 13 suspects on Sunday, November 6.
In Ondo State, also in South-West Nigeria, operatives seized 78 kilogrammes of cannabis from a dealer, Beauty Godwin at Ofosu along Benin-Ore Expressway and another 264 kilogrammes from Abdul Rasheed Mohammed, and Abdul Rasheed Haruna at Sanusi Camp 2 in Owo.
And in Rivers State, South-South Nigeria, anti-narcotics officers of the Agency arrested Damion Onuoha during a raid at Elele Alimini community, Emuoha LGA, where he was found with 1.6 kilogrammes of Methamphetamine as well as monetary exhibit amounting to Six Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Seven Hundred Naira (N650,700.00). A joint operation with the military at Habour Road, Port Harcourt also led to the arrest of Sandra David and seizure of different quantities of cocaine and heroin as well as Two Million, Fifty Five Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fifty Naira (N2,055,750.00) cash exhibit from her home.
In Edo State, South-South Nigeria, operatives located and destroyed 10 clusters of cannabis sativa farms measuring 14 hectares at Igwalor forest in Uhunmwonde LGA where five bags of processed cannabis sativa weighing 47.7 kilogrammes were recovered, while a raid at Obadan village, in the same LGA also led to the recovery 11 bags of cannabis sativa seeds weighing 399 kilogrammes and 34 bags of processed substance weighing 431 kilogrammes, bringing the total weight to 830 kilogrammes. Two suspects, namely Enododia Sunday and Osayaba Paul were arrested at the scene.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
