OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have uncovered a major drug cartel operating under the cover of an 80-room hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, seizing illicit substances valued at over N1bn during a raid.
NDLEA agents, between Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26, stormed the five-storey hotel, operating as The Hook Hotel, Caesar Hotel, and Caesar Lounge at 16 Waziri Ibrahim Street.
A statement on Sunday by the NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi said the raid led to the recovery of 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 417.3 kilograms and worth N1,042,500,000 in street value.
Babafemi said three suspects: Eze Ayitu, Ofuokwu Samuel, and Emmanuel Ameh were arrested during the operation, while two others, Noble Philip and his partner Kenneth, remain at large.
“Items suspected to be proceeds of illicit drug trade recovered from the premises housing The Hook Hotel also known as Caesar Hotel and Caesar Lounge located at 16 Waziri Ibrahim Street, off Elsie Femi Pearse Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, include: Toyota Prado Landcruiser Jeep (Lagos AKD 472 OZ); Toyota Sienna Vehicle (Lagos KJA 79 HJ); Volkswagen Delivery Van (Lagos AAA 525 JE); Kia Ceranto Car (Lagos BDG 860 GQ); Grand Caravan Dodge (Lagos APP 847 YF); 74 new TV sets; 10 used TV sets; and 13 refrigerators, among others, “ he added.
In another operation, he said, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence on Wednesday, April 23, seized consignments of opioids being moved from Kano to the Niger Republic and Yobe state through Jigawa.
“The psychoactive substances were being moved in a Toyota Sienna vehicle marked ABJ 182 NW at about 2:30 am on Wednesday along Kano- Ringim road, Gumel town, when anti-narcotic officers on patrol intercepted them with two suspects: c 28, and Shuaibu Umar, 29 arrested.
“Recovered from the Sienna vehicle were 200,000 pills of tramadol 250mg and 217,500 capsules of pregabalin. A swift follow-up operation in Kano led to the arrest of the supplier, 41-year-old Jamilu Muhammad, at his residence located at Mil Tara, Layin Technical area of Kano while an additional 1,584,000 pills of tramadol 250mg stacked inside a Nissan 18-seater bus marked DAL 372 XA and a room in his house were discovered and evacuated. This brings the total number of the recovered opioids to 2,001,500 pills, “ he added.
Babafemi stated that barely a week after NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation uncovered 20 parcels of cocaine concealed inside religious books going to Saudi Arabia at a logistics company in Lagos, the operatives have again intercepted another shipment of 46 wraps of cocaine weighing 547grams hidden in body cream going to the Middle East country.
“The seizure was made on Wednesday, April 23 at a courier firm in Lagos.
“Another consignment intercepted the same day includes: 1.8kg pentazocine injection and 60 grams bromazepam tablets heading to Canada, “ he added.
At another operation in the Seme border area, Babafemi said three Ghanaian ladies were arrested with drugs.
He said, “At the Seme border area of Badagry, Lagos, three Ghanaian ladies were on Sunday 20th April arrested at the Gbaji checkpoint by NDLEA operatives while attempting to smuggle a combined 4.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud, a strong strain of cannabis into Nigeria. The suspects arrested include: Haziza Zubairu, 42; Samirat Mustapha, 43; and Jamila Salifu, 26.”