Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested a pastor and his wife in Lagos after uncovering 11 kilograms of skunk hidden in modified compartments of their Honda Pilot SUV.
NDLEA
The suspects, Pastor Afolabi Hodonu, 45, in charge of the Celestial Church of Christ, Agonvi Sea Beach, Sakpo area of Seme border, Badagry, and his wife, Mrs Success Hodonu, 35, were nabbed on Thursday at the Gbaji checkpoint, according to a statement by NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi.
A thorough search of the vehicle revealed the illicit substance expertly concealed in hidden sections, Babafemi said.
The couple’s arrest stemmed from an earlier interception at the same checkpoint on March 30, when operatives apprehended fake security agent Sunday Samuel, 35, transporting 24.5 kilograms of skunk from Seme border to Lagos. Investigations into that seizure led to the pastor and his wife.
In related operations, NDLEA officers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, intercepted 3.10 kilograms of cocaine hidden in tins of palm kernel extract destined for the United Kingdom, arresting Idris Olayiwola Amoo and Akinlami Akinsoji Adedoyin. Intelligence-led follow-ups nabbed the alleged sender, Ezemuwo Joel, and syndicate kingpin King Arinze, 52, in Isolo, with 886 prepared tins and packaging tools recovered from his warehouse.
In Borno State, operatives on April 1 arrested 28-year-old Aisha Adamu, a suspected female drug supplier to bandit groups operating between the North East and Chad, along Gamboru Ngala road with 4.3 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis strain.
Nationwide seizures included 48,000 tramadol pills in Adamawa, 1,378 kilograms of skunk from a warehouse in Edo State, and the arrest in Ibadan of a dealer who allegedly used her 11-year-old daughter for distribution.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers, vowing to target traffickers irrespective of status. “These operations underscore our enhanced intelligence and resolve to dismantle drug cartels, no matter their guise,” he said.
