back to top

NDLEA nabs ‘most wanted Lagos drug baron’

AFTER years of evading arrest, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it had arrested 57-year-old Sulaiman Jimoh (popularly known as Temo).

The NDLEA described him as the overall head of the drug cartel of the Mushin area of Lagos State.

According to the agency, Jimoh was arrested at his enclave after initial resistance from him and his followers.

This was disclosed in a statement released on Wednesday, July 24, by the agency through its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.

According to the statement, in the last two years, the NDLEA has intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs worth billions of naira owned by Temo but he has remained largely evasive while a few encounters with him and his armed gangs in his Mushin enclave had resulted in gunfight.

The NDLEA said some of the recent seizures of his shipments include 14, 524.8 kilogrammes of Ghana Loud, a strong strain of cannabis sativa smuggled into Lagos from Ghana in two trucks and a J5 bus intercepted at the Ojuelegba area of the state.

Others are two truck-loads of the same substance weighing 8,852 kilogrammes intercepted at Eleko beach, Lekki Lagos on May 4, 2023, and 252 kilogrammes of Loud seized from his enclave in Mushin on Wednesday, July 26 2023.

“The drug kingpin was very notorious for always being on the move to evade arrest but with persistence and determination of the agency, aided by modern tools and intelligence, the concerted effort to get him paid off at 10 am on Monday 22nd July 2024 when NDLEA’s surveillance teams on his trail tracked and pinned him down at Igbarere street, Mushin.

“A reinforcement of about 50 operatives was immediately mobilised to the area while he was attempting to escape in a Mercedes Benz SUV GLE 350 marked 01G-300G.

According to the NDLEA, Jimoh’s attempt to escape by mobilising hoodlums to engage and distract its operatives failed after which he was overpowered and whisked away from the scene.



Read Also:

It added that some of his men surrendered to the superior firepower of the anti-narcotic agents who also succeeded in recovering the Mercedes Benz SUV the suspect was found in.

Lagos has been the hotbed of drug-related issues in recent years.




     

     

    In 2023, The ICIR reported that the NDLEA seized 8,852 kilograms (8.8 tons) of Canadian Loud, an imported synthetic strain of cannabis, in the Lekki area of  Lagos after a 30-minute gun battle with armed men escorting the consignment loaded in two long trucks.

    The NDLEA, in a statement by Babafemi on Sunday, May 7, said acting on credible intelligence, its operatives laid ambush for the traffickers along the Eleko beach road in Lekki at about 4:51 am on Thursday, May 4.

    According to him, two long trucks conveying the illicit consignments were flagged down, but rather than stopping, the trucks escorted by armed men sped off, as a result of which there was an exchange of gunfire that lasted 30 minutes.

    He added that after they were overpowered by the NDLEA operatives, the truck drivers and their armed escorts escaped into the bush, abandoning the trucks and the drug consignments.

    Bankole Abe

    A reporter with the ICIR
    A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance

    Join the ICIR WhatsApp channel for in-depth reports on the economy, politics and governance, and investigative reports.

    Support the ICIR

    We invite you to support us to continue the work we do.

    Your support will strengthen journalism in Nigeria and help sustain our democracy.

    If you or someone you know has a lead, tip or personal experience about this report, our WhatsApp line is open and confidential for a conversation

    LEAVE A REPLY

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here


    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Support the ICIR

    We need your support to produce excellent journalism at all times.

    -Advertisement-

    Recent

    - Advertisement