By
Fawaz Adebisi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has apprehended the popular socialite and owner of Adekaz Hotel, Alhaji Ademola Afolabi Kazeem, for allegedly trafficking illicit drugs and laundering of money, 10 days after being declared wanted.
The Agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, revealed this on Sunday, as he stated that the search for the wanted socialite paid off last Thursday, November 10, 2022, when he was successfully taken into custody, stressing that he is currently being interrogated.
Recall that the agency, on Tuesday November 1, 2022, declared the suspect wanted for failing to honour it’s invitation and an order granted by a Federal High Court in Lagos, after he was revealed as the sponsor of some traffickers arrested by the anti-narcotics agency in their recent attempt to export cocaine to Dubai, UAE and other destinations outside Nigeria.
According to Babafemi, the suspect’s identity was disclosed after the arrest of one of his mules, Bolujoko Babalola, a Lagos BRT driver on June 27, 2022, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, of the state, when he said Adekaz was the owner of the 900 grammes of cocaine he ingested.
Babafemi, in his words, said the agency approached a Federal High Court in Lagos, after Adekaz failed to honour invitations sent to him, 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 N217 million, all of which were granted.
He also revealed that the Agency recently arrested a businesswoman, Okefun Chisom over her links with two Pakistanis: Asif Muhammed, 45 and Hussain Naveed, 57, 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 on Saturday 5th November.
In the same vein, he said that an automobile parts dealer, Omeje Oliver (a.k.a David Mark) was also arrested on Monday, October 31 in Enugu, where he fled to after abandoning his business at Aspanda, Trade Fair Complex Lagos since 16th April in connection with the seizure of 600 grammes of heroin concealed inside soles of lady’s footwears going to Liberia, has been linked to another drug seizure.
Also, he said operatives in Ogun state in the early hours of Saturday raided a warehouse at Ogere area of Ikene local government area where they seized 273 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 3,533 kilogrammes (3.533 tonnes) from a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Jesutofunmi Solomon. This came on the heels of the seizure of 176 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa at Ogere trailer park last Wednesday and the destruction of 15 hectares of cannabis plantation in Gbamgbam area of the state.
In Osun, operatives have also raided a cannabis plantation at Obada sawmill, Owena Ijesa in Oriade local government area where they destroyed 1.2 hectares, recovered 2,823 kilogrammes of processed cannabis sativa and arrested 13 suspects on Sunday 6th November.
Speaking on the Agency’s operation in Ondo, operatives have seized 78 kilogrammes of cannabis from a dealer, Beauty Godwin at Ofosu along Benin-Ore express road, and another 264 kilogrammes from Abdul Rasheed Mohammed, and Abdul Rasheed Haruna at Sanusi camp 2 in Owo, while in Rivers state, anti-narcotics officers of the agency arrested Damion Onuoha during a raid at Elele Alimini community, Emuoha local government area where he was found with 1.6 kilogrammes of methamphetamine as well as monetary exhibit amounting to N650,700.00. A joint operation with the military at Habour road, Port Harcourt also led to the arrest of Sandra David and seizure of different quantities of cocaine and heroin as well as N2,055,750.00 cash exhibit from her home.
In Edo state, operatives located and destroyed 10 clusters of cannabis sativa farms measuring 14 hectares at Igwalor forest, Uhunmwonde local government area where five bags of processed cannabis sativa weighing 47.7 kilogrammes were recovered, while a raid at Obadan village, in the same council also led to the recovery of 11 bags of cannabis sativa seeds weighing 399 kilogrammes and 34 bags of processed substance weighing 431 kilogrammes, bringing the total weight to 830 kilogrammes. Two suspects: Enododia Sunday and Osayaba Paul were arrested at the scene.
While giving the statistics, he therefore commended the members of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Rivers and Edo Commands of the agency for their successful operations, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd), as he urged them and their counterparts across the country to intensify the heat on drug barons and cartels.
