The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a wanted Lagos socialite and owner of Adekaz Hotels, Ademola Afolabi Kazeem, over offences bordering on exportation and trafficking of illicit drugs as well as money laundering.

The NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, made this known via a statement issued on Sunday.

The anti-drug agency had, on November 1, declared Kazeem wanted following his failure to honour NDLEA invitations and an order granted by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

Babafemi stated that the wanted drug kingpin was uncovered as the sponsor of some traffickers arrested by the anti-narcotics agency in their recent attempt to export cocaine to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and other destinations outside Nigeria.

He noted that the search for him however paid off on Thursday, November 10 when he was taken into custody where he is currently being interviewed.

He said Kazeem was declared wanted after one of his mules, Bolujoko Muyiwa Babalola, a Lagos BRT driver, was arrested on June 27 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State when he named the Lagos socialite as the owner of the 900grams of cocaine he ingested.

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“Following Adekaz’s failure to honour invitations sent to him, the Agency approached a Federal High Court in Lagos with three prayers: to attach and seal his identified properties in choice areas of Lagos island and Ibadan; declare him wanted and block his bank account with a cash balance of Two Hundred and Seventeen Million Naira, all of which were granted, the NDLEA spokesperson added.

Babafemi stated that the NDLEA operatives also arrested a businesswoman, Okefun Darlington Chisom over her links with two Pakistanis, Asif Muhammed, 45, and Hussain Naveed, 57, who were arrested at the Lagos airport with 8 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a sound system while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Lahole, Pakistan via Doha last Saturday.

The anti-narcotics spokesman said the NDLEA operatives also arrested an automobile parts dealer, Omeje Oliver in Enugu where he fled to after abandoning his business at Aspanda, Trade Fair Complex in Lagos since April 16 in connection with the seizure of 600 grams of heroin concealed inside soles of lady’s footwears going to Liberia.

He noted that Omeje was also involved in a case of 1.580kg Methamphetamine that was seized from one Victor Nwobodo Friday, who was arrested at the Lagos airport during his aborted trip to Jakarta, Indonesia on February 6, 2018.

Babafemi said charges have been filed against the suspect at the Federal High Court Lagos in respect of the old seizure in addition to that of the recent one.

He added that the NDLEA operatives attached to the SAHCO import shed of the Lagos airport also intercepted another consignment of Tramadol from Karachi, Pakistan.

The anti-drug agency spokesperson stated that six cartons comprising 497,900 tablets of Royal Tramaking brand of Tramadol 225mg with a gross weight of 304.90 kilograms were recovered after a joint examination by stakeholders on Friday.

While commending the anti-narcotics officers for the successful operations in the past week, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), urged them and their counterparts across the country to intensify the heat on drug barons and cartels.

The Star