The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended a wanted drug baron, 57-year-old Alhaji Sulaiman Jimoh, popularly known as Temo, in the Mushin area of Lagos State.

Temo, who was notorious for evading arrest, was nabbed by the NDLEA operatives on Monday, July 22, 2024.

The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this via a statement on Wednesday, July 24.

Babafemi stated that the anti-drug agency had, in the last two years, intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs worth billions of naira owned by Temo who evaded arrest, adding that a few encounters with the suspect and his armed gangs in his Mushin enclave resulted in a gunfight.

He listed some of the recent seizures of the suspect’s shipments to include 14,524.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud, a strong strain of cannabis sativa, smuggled into Lagos from Ghana in two trucks and a J5 bus intercepted in the Ojuelegba area of Lagos on January 28, 2024; two truck-loads of the same substance weighing 8,852kg intercepted at Eleko beach, Lekki in Lagos on May 4, 2023; and 252kg of Loud seized from his enclave in Mushin on July 26, 2023.

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“Indeed, in the last two encounters, his men engaged NDLEA operatives in gunfight,” Babafemi noted.

The NDLEA spokesperson disclosed that a reinforcement of about 50 operatives was mobilised to Mushin while Temo was attempting to escape in a Mercedes Benz SUV on Monday.

Babafemi said the suspect’s attempt to escape by mobilising hoodlums to engage NDLEA operatives failed after which Temo was overpowered and arrested by the anti-narcotic officers.

He revealed that the operatives also recovered the Mercedes Benz SUV the suspect was found in.

In his reaction, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the anti-narcotic officers for their resilience, vigilance, and professionalism.

Marwa also urged them to intensify the heat on all drug cartels wherever they are located, saying: “I’m particularly delighted because the arrest was eventually effected in his enclave without any casualty despite the attack on our men.

“This is therefore a clear message to others still involved in this criminal trade of illicit drugs that if they don’t opt out now, we’ll get them because we’re just steps away from their doorsteps and more importantly they can only run, they can’t hide forever.”

The Star