NDLEA arrests pastor, wife, bandits’ female drug supplier
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate following a three weeks high stake intelligence led operation.
During the operation, cocaine consignments concealed in tins of palm kernel extract heading to the United Kingdom were intercepted.
The operatives also raided the warehouse where the cocaine shipments are packaged, unravelled the three layers of the group and arrested the kingpin.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the NDLEA said that the operation began on Wednesday 11th March 2026, when its officers of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos intercepted 3.10 kilograms of cocaine at the export shed of the airport, which was meticulously hidden inside tins of palm kernel extract intended for shipment to the UK.
“Two suspects handling the shipment, Idris Olayiwola Amoo and Akinlami Akinsoji Adedoyin were promptly arrested.
“To unravel the sender and the arrowhead of the drug syndicate, a well-coordinated sting operation was carried out on Thursday 2nd April, which led to the arrest of the sender of the consignment, Ezemuwo Joel, who operates under a fake identity as Ajayi.
“His arrest provided the link to the syndicate’s head, 52-year-old King Arinze who was flushed out of a hideout in the Isolo area of Lagos.
“He was thereafter taken to his warehouse at 11, Ola Ifa Street, Bucknor, Isolo where NDLEA operatives recovered 886 tins of palm kernel extract prepared for drug concealment; industrial tools including a sealing machine, tin openers; paint sprays; 52 grams of cannabis sativa and a pack of hand gloves.
“Arinze has since confessed to personally draining the oil from the tins to conceal the cocaine,” the statement added.
In a separate but equally significant operation in Borno state, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 1st April intercepted a female supplying illicit drugs to bandit groups in the North East and Chad Republic .
The suspect, 28-year-old Aisha Adamu, was arrested along Gamboru Ngala road in possession of 4.3 kilograms of Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
Meanwhile, the pastor in charge of the Celestial Church of Christ, Agonvi Sea Beach, Sakpo area of Seme border, Badagry in Lagos state, Pastor Afolabi Hodonu, 45, and his wife, Mrs. Success Hodonu, 35, were on Thursday 2nd April arrested by NDLEA operatives at Gbaji checkpoint.
“A search of their Honda Pilot SUV led to the recovery of blocks of skunk weighing 11kg concealed in hidden parts of their vehicle.
“The arrest of the couple followed the apprehension of a fake security agent Sunday Samuel, 35, at the same checkpoint on Monday 30th March while conveying 24.5kg skunk from Seme border to Lagos.”
The NDLEA also said its officers in Adamawa state while on patrol along Namtari road , Yola South on Monday 30th March, intercepted a trailer marked RUW 947 XA transporting 48,000 pills of tramadol.
The truck driver, Abdulaziz Ismail Korede, was arrested while a follow-up operation led to the arrest of the recipient, Idris Adamu.
In Osun state, 60-year-old Idiatu Oladejo was arrested with 15kg skunk in Isale Osun, Osogbo, on Wednesday 1st April, while in Ondo state, 351 kilograms of skunk and its seeds were recovered following a raid in Itaogbolu forest, Akure.
“No fewer than 28,600 capsules of tramadol were seized from 66-year-old Aminu Usman Gembu when he was arrested at Aliade, Benue state on Wednesday 1st April, and in Edo state, a suspect Roland Owie, 37, was arrested on Monday 30th March following the raid of his warehouse at Egbanke community, Orhionmwon LGA, where 1,378 kilograms of skunk were recovered.
Similarly, a notorious drug dealer, 40-year-old Ayantola Omodunmomi a.k.a Iya Elle, was on Wednesday 1st April arrested at Eleta area of Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.
“Her arrest follows intelligence and surveillance on how she uses her 11-year-old daughter, Anjola, to deliver illicit drugs to her customers. At the time of her arrest, 45.6kg skunk was recovered from her warehouse.”
