NDLEA Arrests Traditional Chief Priest, Intercepts 1.1bn Worth Of Cocaine
By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a traditional chief priest, Bariu Aliu, after a three-month manhunt.
NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, said Aliu, also known as “Malo”, was arrested in the Alpha Beach area of Ajah, Lagos State, after 2,760 kilograms of skunk were recovered from his shrine on October 25, 2024.
Babafemi said that though two of Bariu’s accomplices had been arrested, charged, and convicted last year, the chief priest was identified as the leader of the drug syndicate operating from the shrine.
Similarly, operatives intercepted a 40-foot trailer loaded with 2,217.6 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, during an intelligence-led operation in the Kagini area of Kubwa in Abuja.
According to Babafemi, the drugs, meant for onward distribution to some northern states, were being distributed into six vehicles at an abandoned fuel station in the area, when the operatives stormed the place.
Also seized alongside the trailer were the 6 vehicles comprising a Toyota Van, Toyota Camry, Toyota Sienna, a JAC 4-wheel-drive Hilux, a Toyota Corolla, and a Vento Passat, even as a suspect, 42-year-old Isaac Monday Desmond was arrested.
The anti-narcotics agency’s spokesman said the consignment was loaded onto the trailer at Uzebba in the Owan Local Council Area of Edo state.
Furthermore, 20 wraps of cocaine, weighing 330 grams, were intercepted from a cargo shipment bound for Australia at a logistics firm in Lagos. The cocaine was concealed in face cream containers.
Also, a total of 338,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth N1,190,168,200 in street value, were intercepted in two containers watch-listed by the agency following processed intelligence.
“The illicit consignments were discovered during joint examination of the containers by NDLEA operatives, Customs and other security agencies on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th January 2025 at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers state”, Babafemi stated.
