Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a pastor and his wife for allegedly trafficking illicit drugs concealed in a vehicle along the Seme border corridor in Lagos State.
The agency said it recovered 11 kilogrammes of skunk hidden in specially constructed compartments of a Honda Pilot SUV conveying the suspects.
Spokesman for the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, identifying the suspects as Afolabi Hodonu, 45, a pastor with the Celestial Church of Christ, Agonvi Sea Beach, Badagry, and his wife, Success, 35.
Babafemi said the couple was apprehended on April 2 at the Gbaji checkpoint along the Seme Border while travelling in the vehicle.
He said, “A search conducted on the SUV led to the discovery of 11kg of skunk concealed in compartments deliberately created within the vehicle.”
The agency noted that the arrest followed actionable intelligence obtained from an earlier operation involving one Sunday Samuel, 35, who allegedly posed as a security agent.
Samuel, according to the statement, was arrested on March 30 at the same checkpoint while conveying 24.5kg of skunk from the border area into Lagos.
In a related development, the NDLEA said it dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate involved in the exportation of cocaine to the United Kingdom.
The operation, Babafemi said, began on March 11 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, where operatives intercepted 3.10kg of cocaine concealed in tins of palm kernel extract meant for export.
He added that two suspects, identified as Idris Amoo and Akinlami Adedoyin, were arrested in connection with the consignment at the airport.
“Further investigation led to the arrest of the alleged sender, Ezemuwo Joel, who operated under a false identity. His arrest exposed the leader of the syndicate, one King Arinze, 52, who was subsequently tracked to his hideout in Isolo, Lagos,” the statement added.
NDLEA operatives later raided a warehouse linked to the suspect at Bucknor, Isolo, where they recovered 886 tins prepared for concealing illicit drugs, alongside industrial tools including a sealing machine, tin openers, paint sprays, and 52 grammes of cannabis.
Babafemi said the suspected kingpin confessed to personally emptying palm kernel oil from tins to conceal cocaine for export, as investigations into the syndicate continue.
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