Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested a former two-term councillor in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria, over alleged involvement in illicit drug sale and trafficking.
The suspect, Sheleru Sadiq Olalekan, 45, who previously represented the Orimedu community at the Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Council and currently serves as a legislative aide, was arrested on Monday at his residence in Ilado, Ibeju-Lekki.
According to NDLEA, a search of the residence led to the recovery of 40 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from one of the rooms.
The agency said the arrest followed credible intelligence linking the former councillor to illicit drug activities.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, disclosed the development in a statement on Sunday.
Babafemi said the suspect admitted ownership of the drugs and the property where they were recovered.
In a related development in the Federal Capital Territory, NDLEA officers on Tuesday intercepted a 32-year-old businessman, Emeka Hyginus Okwor, travelling from Obollo-Afor in Enugu State to Zuba in Abuja.
The agency said 1,000 pills of tapentadol (250mg) were found concealed inside baby diapers in his luggage.
Okwor reportedly admitted ownership of the drugs, saying he was transporting them to Guduwa village in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State where he operates a provision store.
Also on Tuesday, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Kabba/Obajana highway in Kogi State intercepted 1.55kg of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, concealed in a standing fan carton belonging to Mey Ali Muhamat, a 36-year-old Cameroonian from Maroua in the Republic of Cameroon.
The suspect was travelling on a commercial bus from Lagos to Cameroon via Lokoja, Kano and Maiduguri.
In another operation in Niger State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Mokwa–Jebba road intercepted a commercial bus from Ibadan, Oyo State carrying 500 pieces of improvised explosive device (IED) components concealed in a sack and meant for delivery at Pelegi.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the intended recipient, Osama Abdullahi, 21, in Pelegi, Mashegu Local Government Area.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Yola, Adamawa State recovered 122,000 pills of tramadol and 700 grams of methamphetamine concealed in the false bottom of a truck transporting 2,000 cartons of local drinks.
In separate operations, Muhammed Ali, 20, was arrested in Gadar Tamburawa, Kano with 11,283 pills of tramadol, while two suspects, Nazifi Mudansir and Kabiru Musa, were arrested during a raid in Ogere, Ogun State with 46kg of skunk.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives arrested Joy Chukwuma, 25, and Eugene Felix, 22, at Ogwashi-Uku with 18.63kg of skunk, 10.8 litres of codeine-based syrup and 4,268 pills of tramadol and swinol.
Similarly, Eke London, 48, and Austin Isusi, 49, were arrested at Egbisi forest in Uhumwonde Local Government Area of Edo State, where NDLEA operatives destroyed 1,910.25kg of skunk on two farms.
Another suspect, Alaba Adeboye, 47, was apprehended at Ikhin town in Owan East Local Government Area with 176.50kg of skunk.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers of the agency in Lagos, FCT, Kano, Niger, Kogi, Edo, Ogun, Delta and Adamawa for the arrests and seizures.
Marwa urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control across the country.
NDLEA arrests ex-Lagos LG Councilor for illicit drug sale, trafficking
