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NDLEA arrests shrine priest, seizes over 2,760kg of skunk, other Illicit drugs

OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a traditional chief priest of the Igunuko Shrine, Bariu Aliu, in the Alpha Beach area of Ajah, Lagos State, after a three-month manhunt.

Popularly known as “Malo,” Bariu was apprehended following the recovery of 2,760 kilogrammes of skunk from his shrine on October 25, 2024.

According to a statement released on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, two of Bariu’s accomplices were arrested, charged, and convicted in 2024, while Bariu was identified as the leader of the drug syndicate operating from the shrine.

The stated, “The intelligence-led operation, which took place at 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, January 11, 2025, led to the seizure of the large illicit consignment, the trailer, six vehicles- comprising a Toyota Van, Toyota Camry, Toyota Sienna, a JAC 4-wheel-drive Hilux, a Toyota Corolla, and a Vento Passat – and the arrest of a suspect, 42-year-old Isaac Monday Desmond.

“The consignment was loaded onto the trailer at Uzebba in the Owan Local Council Area of Edo State.”



In a separate operation in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), NDLEA officers arrested two suspects, Anthony Nnamdi, 42, and Abba Ali, 27, in Nyanya, recovering 1.398 kilogrammes of cocaine and a precursor substance used to prepare crack cocaine.

The statement said 20 wraps of cocaine weighing 330 grammes were intercepted from a cargo shipment destined for Australia at a logistics firm in Lagos. The cocaine was concealed in face cream containers.




     

     

    Besides, 338,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup, valued at over ₦1.19 billion, were seized from two containers flagged by the agency. The consignments were discovered during joint examinations by NDLEA operatives, Customs, and other security agencies on January 9 and 10 at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State.

    In Kano, the agency’s operatives arrested 23-year-old Habibu Ya’u during a raid at Gadar Tamburawa, Zaria Road, on January 9. They recovered 45 blocks of cannabis weighing 24.2 kilogrammes, along with 40,800 pills of opioids, including tramadol.

    “A 40-foot trailer loaded with skunk weighing 2,217.6 kilogrammes was intercepted by NDLEA operatives while being distributed into six vehicles at an abandoned fuel station in Kagini, Kubwa, Abuja, for onward distribution to some northern states,” the statement added.

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    The ICIR reported that the NDLEA arrested 14,480 drug traffickers and seized 2.4 million kilogrammes of illicit drugs in the first 10 months of 2024.

    Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.

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