From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The dragnet of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has caught a fleeing Lagos socialite and suspected drug baron, Alhaji Ademola Afolabi Kazeem (a.k.a Alhaji Abdalla Kazeem Muhammed) over offences bordering on exportation and trafficking of illicit drugs as well as money laundering.
The arrest of Kazeem, who is also the owner Adekaz Hotels, is coming 10 days after he was declared wanted by the agency. Specifically, the anti-narcotic agency had, on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, declared the suspect wanted, following his failure to honour NDLEA’s invitations and an order granted by a Federal High Court, Lagos.
A statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the wanted drug kingpin was uncovered as the sponsor of some traffickers arrested by the anti-narcotics agency in their recent attempt to export cocaine to Dubai, 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 interrogated.
His lid was blown open after the arrest of one of his moles, Bolujoko Muyiwa Babalola, a Lagos BRT driver, on June 27, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, when he named Alhaji Ademola Kazeem, alias Adekaz, 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 N217 million all of which were granted.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives also arrested a businesswoman, Okefun Darlington Chisom, over her links with two Pakistanis: Asif Muhammed, 45, and Hussain Naveed, 57, arrested at the Lagos airport with eight 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 (a.k.a 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 ladies’ footwears going to Liberia, has been linked to another drug seizure.
A further look at the agency’s database reveals Omeje was also involved in a case of 1.580kg methamphetamine that was seized from one Victor Nwobodo Friday, who was arrested at the 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 six cartons, comprising 497,900 tablets of royal tramaking brand of tramadol 225mg, with a gross weight of 304.90 kilograms, were recovered after a joint examination by stakeholders on Friday, November 11.
Operatives in Ogun State, in the early hours of Saturday, November 12 raided a warehouse at the Ogere area of Ikenne LGA, where they seized 273 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa, weighing 3,533 kilograms (3.533tons), from a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Jesutofunmi Solomon. This came on the heels of the seizure of 176kgs of C/S at Ogere trailer park, on Wednesday, November 9, and the destruction of 15 hectares of cannabis plantation in the Gbamgbam area of the state.
In the same vein, operatives in Osun State have raided a cannabis plantation at Obada sawmill, Owena Ijesha in Oriade LGA, where they destroyed 1.2 hectares, recovered 2,823kgs of processed C/S and arrested 13 suspects, on Sunday, November 6.
In Ondo, operatives seized 78kgs of cannabis from a dealer, Beauty Godwin, at Ofosu, along Benin-Ore Expressroad, and another 264kgs from Abdul Rasheed Mohammed, and Abdul Rasheed Haruna, at Sanusi Camp 2 in Owo, while in Rivers State, anti-narcotics officers of the agency arrested Damion Onuoha during a raid at Elele Alimini community, Emuoha LGA, where he was found with 1.6kgs of methamphetamine, as well as monetary exhibit amounting to N650,700.00. A joint operation with the military at Harbour Road, Port Harcourt City, also led to the arrest of Sandra David and seizure of different quantities of cocaine and heroin, as well as N2,055,750.00 cash exhibit from her home.
In Edo State, operatives located and destroyed 10 clusters of cannabis sativa farms, measuring 14 hectares at Igwalor forest, Uhunmwonde LGA, where five bags of processed C/S weighing 47.7kgs were recovered, while a raid at Obadan village, in the same LGA, also, led to the recovery 11 bags of cannabis sativa seeds weighing 399kgs and 34 bags of processed substance weighing 431kgs, bringing the total weight to 830kgs. Two suspects: Enododia Sunday and Osayaba Paul, were arrested at the scene.
While commending the officers and men of the MMIA, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Rivers and Edo Commands of the agency for the successful operations in the past week, Chairman and Chief Executive, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd), urged them and their counterparts across the country, to intensify the heat on drug barons and cartels.