NDLEA arrests Osun monarch, corps member for ‘drug trafficking’

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Ige Babatunde, the Ba’ale of Akarabata in Ile-Ife, for alleged drug trafficking.

In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said 50-year-old Babatunde was apprehended on Friday with 5kg of “fresh cannabis plants”.

The agency also said Yusuf Abdulrahman, a 25-year-old youth corps member, was arrested at Corpers Lodge in the Sumaila area of Kano, with 1.250kg of Loud.

He added that the NDLEA also raided the Lagos base of a “high-profile cocaine syndicate” headed by Agbakoba John Mmadu and his wife.

He said large consignments of cocaine meant for export and local distribution were recovered during the raid.

“Seven parcels of cocaine with a total weight of 7.652 kilograms were recovered from Mmadu at Ago Palace Way,” the statement reads.

“One hundred and twenty-two (122) compressed pellets of the same drug weighing 2.42kg were seized from Ijeoma and Ifeoma at Lilly Estate, bringing the total seizure to 10.1 kilograms valued at over N2.1 billion in street value.”

Babafemi added that NDLEA operatives in Benue intercepted a consignment of 350 grams of cocaine at a checkpoint along Enugu Road on Thursday.

“The illicit drug was concealed in an MP3 speaker sent as a waybill parcel. A swift follow-up operation at Flight motor park in Otukpo led to the arrest of the owner, 25-year-old Odeh Anthony,” the statement added.