NDLEA busts three syndicates in Lagos, arrests drug baroness, four kingpins

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it has busted three syndicates in Lagos State.

NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, announced the arrests in a statement he issued on Sunday.

According to Babafemi, the three major illicit drug syndicates were taken down by operatives of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of NDLEA.

He disclosed that a female head of one of the syndicates, Faith Ebele Nwankwo, was 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.

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.

Another syndicate involved in the importation, exportation, and distribution of cocaine and Canadian Loud was earlier busted 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.

They were at the point of sending 25kg of ephedrine hydrochloride to the Southeast.

The duo was part of a syndicate involved in the importation, distribution, and diversion of the precursor chemical used for the production of methamphetamine.