A former two – term councilor at Ibeju-Lekki Local Government area of Lagos State, Sheleru Sadiq Olalekan has been arrested by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for allegedly being in possession of illicit drugs.
The suspect, currently serving as a legislative aide was arrested last Monday at his residence in Ilado, Ibeju-Lekki Lagos where a search was conducted following credible intelligence report linking him to illicit drugs sale and trafficking.
In a press statement by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, the 45-year-old former local government councilor was said to have kept 40 kilograms of skunk and a strain of cannabis in one of his rooms where they were recovered.
The statement added that while Sheleru admitted ownership of the exhibit and the property where it was recovered also confessed that he had previously served two terms as a councilor representing Orimedu Community in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Council.
In a similar development, officers of the agency last Tuesday at the FCT intercepted a 32-year-old businessman, Emeka Hyginus Okwor, in a vehicle coming from Obollo-Afor in Enugu State to Zuba, FCT.
The press statement disclosed that a search of the luggage of Emeka revealed a hidden 1,000 pills of tapentadol 250mg concealed inside baby diapers and that the suspect admitted ownership just as he revealed that he was taking the consignment to Guduwa Village in Gurara Local Government Area, Niger State where he has a provision store.
While on patrol along Kabba/Obajana Highway, Kogi State on the same day, NDLEA operatives intercepted a consignment of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 1.550kg concealed inside a standing fan carton belonging to a 36-year-old Cameroonian, Mey Ali Muhamat who hails from Maroua, Republic of Cameroon, who was travelling in a commercial bus from Lagos to Cameroon, en route Lokoja, Kano and Maiduguri, the report added.
In Niger State, operatives on patrol along Mokwa-Jebba Road, last Wednesday, intercepted a commercial bus coming from Ibadan, Oyo State and found in it 500 pieces of improvised explosive device (IED) components concealed inside a white sack to be delivered to a recipient at Pelegi.
A swift follow up operation according to the statement led to the arrest of the recipient, Osama Abdullahi (21) at Pelegi, Mashegu Local Government Area of the state.
NDLEA operatives in Yola, Adamawa State, last Wednesday, recovered no fewer than 122,000 pills of tramadol and 700grams of methamphetamine were recovered from the false bottom of a truck, marked ENU 645XX, conveying 2000 cartons of local drinks.
In another development, Muhammed Ali (20), was caught at Gadar Tamburawa, Kano, last Tuesday 3rd March, with 11,283 pills of tramadol.
In the same vein, NDLEA officers in Ogun State conducted a raid operation in Ogere, where they arrested two suspects: Nazifi Mudansir and Kabiru Musa, in possession of 46 kilograms of skunk.
In Delta State, two suspects, Joy Chukwuma (25) and Eugene Felix (22), were caught, last Saturday, at Ogwashi Uku with 18.63kg skunk, 10.8 litres of codeine- based syrup and 4,268 pills of tramadol and swinol.
Similarly, a 48-year-old suspect, Eke London and his accomplice, Austin Isusi (49), were arrested at Egbisi forest, Uhumwonde Local Government Area, Edo State where 1,910.25kg of skunk was destroyed by NDLEA operatives on two farms.
Also in another part of the state, Ikhin Town, Owan East Local Government Area, another suspect Alaba Adeboye (47), was apprehended with 176.50kg skunk.
Meanwhile, NDLEA commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.
These include WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Government Senior College, Apata, Ibadan, Oyo State; Government Girls Secondary School, Katcha, Niger State; Government Girls Day Secondary School, Tsafe, Zamfara State;
Sango Junior Secondary School, Agege, Lagos State; Government Day Secondary School, Illelah, Sokoto State; Archbishop Akinola International Secondary School, Afikpo, Ebonyi State and Nnamdi Azikiwe Secondary School, Abagana, Anambra State, among others.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), has commended the officers and men of Lagos, FCT, Kano, Niger, Kogi, Edo, Ogun, Delta, Adamawa, and Edo Commands for the arrests, seizures and their dexterity.
He enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the anti-narcotic agency.