Ige Babatunde, a monarch in Osun State, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for alleged possession of cannabis plants.
He was arrested by the NDLEA on July 5 with fresh cannabis plants weighing 5kg, according to a statement on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi said, “In Osun State, the head of Akarabata community in Ile-Ife, Ba’ale Ige Babatunde, 50, was on Friday, July 5 arrested with fresh cannabis plants that weighed 5kg.”
He also said operatives arrested a corps member, identified as Yusuf Abdulrahman, with a loud which weighed 1.250kg at a corpers lodge in Kano State.
He said, “In Kano, operatives on Wednesday, July 3rd, arrested a youth corps member, Yusuf Abdulrahman, 25, at Corpers Lodge, Sumaila area of the city, with 1.250kg of Loud.”
Babafemi added that its operatives raided the hideout of a high-profile cocaine baron headed by a couple in Lagos.
He said consignments of the class A drug meant for export and local distribution were recovered during the operation.
Babafemi added that a total of 10.1 kg valued at over N2.1 billion in street value was recovered from the suspects.
He said, “Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have raided the Lagos base of a high-profile cocaine syndicate headed by a couple: Agbakoba John Mmadu, and Agbakoba Ijeoma Chinwe as well as their associate, Okoye Ifeoma Maryjane, where large consignments of the class A drug meant for export and local distribution were recovered.
“The raid carried out by a special operations unit of the Agency followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance on the syndicate notorious for packaging, distributing and trafficking of cocaine within and outside Nigeria.
“The 54-year-old Agbakoba John Mmadu was arrested at Ago palace way, Okota, while his wife, Agbakoba Ijeoma Chinwe, 39, and associate, Okoye Ifeoma Maryjane, 31, who doubles as their stash keeper, were nabbed at Plot 2205 Eugene Ndubisi close, Lilly Estate, Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos, all on Wednesday July 3, 2024.
“While seven parcels of cocaine with a total weight of 7.652 kilograms were recovered from Mmadu at Ago palace way, not less than 122 compressed pellets of the same drug weighing 2.42kg were seized from the duo of Ijeoma and Ifeoma at Lilly Estate, bringing the total seizure to 10.1 kilograms valued at over N2.1 billion in street value.”
Babafemi noted that NDLEA operatives in Benue state on Thursday, July 4, intercepted a consignment of 350 grams of cocaine at a checkpoint along Enugu Road, Otukpo.
He added, “The illicit drug was concealed in an MP3 speaker sent as a waybill parcel. A swift follow-up operation at Flight Motor Park in Otukpo led to the arrest of the owner, 25-year-old Odeh Anthony.”
Meanwhile, NDLEA officers, on a stop and search operation along Ngurore-Yola road in Adamawa state on Wednesday, 3rd July, arrested a Chadian, Yves Ahmat Gali, in a commercial bus coming from Kano to Yola.
“The suspect was found with a loudspeaker used to conceal 20 compressed blocks, and nine plastic containers of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 5.200kg.”
Babafemi also said two suspects were NDLEA operatives who raided Ikota forest in Ifedore LGA, Ondo state, where a total of 42,500kg of cannabis was destroyed on 17 hectares of farmland.
He added that 73.5kg of the same substance was recovered for the prosecution of the suspects during a five-day operation that ended on Monday, July 1.
Babafemi gave the suspects’ names as Monday Ali, 49, and Jimoh Alewi, 37.
In Abuja, Babafemi said the FCT, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, July 6, arrested the duo of Sanusi Mamman, 28, and Usaini Ibrahim, 20, in a vehicle along Abaji- Gwagwalada with 1,132 bottles of codeine syrup, 13, 540 pills of tramadol; 50,000 pills of diazepam and 59 pills of rophynol.
“The suspects claimed they were bringing the opioids from Onitsha, Anambra state,” he said.
