Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a wanted drug baron, Frank Chijioke Ibemesi, alias “Chisco Bee,” in Lagos, recovering over 1.7 tonnes of illicit cannabis and foreign currency in the process.
NDLEA spokesperson, Mr. Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday, Nov. 16, in Abuja.
Ibemesi, 42, who operates under the guise of a businessman and hotelier, was arrested in the early hours of Saturday, Nov. 15, at his Daisy Garden Hotel located at 66-68 Agbeke Street, Ago Palace Way, Isolo, Lagos.
Following his arrest, NDLEA operatives led him to his warehouse at 7 Pius Ezeobi Street, also in Isolo, where they recovered 42 jumbo bags and four cartons of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 1,762.8 kilograms.
Also seized were cash sums of $11,600 (US dollars), £2,000 (British Pounds), €2,200 (Euros), and C$50 (Canadian dollars).
In a related operation, NDLEA agents thwarted a major drug syndicate’s attempt to distribute 11,135 kilograms of processed skunk from the Orita-Apeje, Araromi-Okeodo forest reserve in Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State.
The bust, which occurred on Tuesday, Nov. 11, followed days of surveillance. Two trucks — a Volvo marked WWR 29 XA and a Mercedes with registration AWK 713 YZ — were intercepted, and seven suspects arrested.
Those in custody include Lucky Abiodun, Julius Amos, Victor Ngbikili, Sunday Oduegwu, Ibrahim Akanni, Eze Godstime, and Fred Ifeanyichukwu.
Further seizures were made in Edo State, where 1,902.1 kilograms of skunk were recovered in separate operations:
- 184.1kg along a bush path at Oza/Igbanke Road, Orhionmwon LGA (Nov. 13)
- 672kg from Utese Forest, Ovia North East LGA (Nov. 14)
- 494kg from a Mercedes Benz car on Benin-Akure Road, with suspect Felix Edah, 45, arrested
- 552kg from another Mercedes Benz vehicle driven by Lucky Abagha, 51
Babafemi said the operations reflect NDLEA’s intensified efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks across the country
