NDLEA busts three syndicates in Lagos, arrested drug baroness, others

The Lagos State chapter of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) disclosed on Sunday that it busted three syndicates during a recent raid in Lagos.

The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement made available to journalists, said three major illicit drug syndicates were taken down by operatives of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of NDLEA.

One of the syndicates is a female identified as Faith Ebele Nwankwo.

The drug baroness was reportedly arrested on August 9 at her residence, House 6, C Close, 3rd Avenue, Festac area of Lagos, shortly after she returned from a warehouse at Plot 3432 Sola Akinsola Street, Divine Estate, Amuwo Odofin, where she loaded eight cartons of tramadol 225mg into an unmarked white Honda Pilot SUV.

Babafemi said a search of her residence and the warehouse led to the recovery of 2,750,000 pills of Tramaking, a brand of Tramadol 225mg and 250mg, packed in 39 cartons weighing 1,916 kg.

The drugs and the SUV were recovered while the suspect was taken into custody.

The NDLEA said it also arrested another syndicate involved in the importation, exportation, and distribution of cocaine and Canadian Loud on August 4, after its members were tracked to Atlantic Nominee Estate in the Lekki-Ajah area of Lagos and were caught red-handed with a Toyota Highlander SUV loaded with 8.49kg of cocaine and 10.3 kg of Canadian Loud that were about to be distributed.

The duo of Urama Chinemelum Precious, 32, and Adelakun Ilelabayo Oluade, 55, were nabbed immediately. A follow-up operation by NDLEA operatives at the residence of the first Chinemelum at House 7, Road 7, Lagra Estate, in Eti-Osa, further led to the recovery of an additional 18 blocks of Loud weighing 18.5kg.

The third syndicate was busted the following day, August 5, when the duo of Udeh Vincent Ogbonna, 53, and Okonkwo Ifeanyi Uzozie, 50, were arrested at a commercial bus terminal in Jibowu, Yaba.