Nosa Aituamen
A sophisticated drug trafficking operation operating under the guise of an 80-room hotel in the upscale Victoria Island area of Lagos has been dismantled by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Following an extensive raid on “The Hook Hotel,” also known as Caesar Hotel and Caesar Lounge, located on Waziri Ibrahim Street, authorities recovered 589 bags of “Canadian Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, weighing a total of 417.3 kilograms with an estimated street value of ₦1,042,500,000.
According to the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi, the operation, conducted between Friday, April 25th, and Saturday, April 26th, resulted in the arrest of three suspects: Eze Ayitu, Ofuokwu Samuel, and Emmanuel Ameh.
Two other individuals, Noble Philip and his partner Kenneth, are currently at large.
Investigators, he noted also impounded a fleet of vehicles, including a Toyota Prado Landcruiser Jeep, Toyota Sienna, Volkswagen Delivery Van, Kia Ceranto Car, and a Grand Caravan Dodge, alongside 74 new television sets, 10 used televisions, and 13 refrigerators, all suspected to be proceeds of the illicit drug trade.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA’s Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) in Lagos continued its streak of successful interdictions.
Barely a week after uncovering cocaine concealed in religious books destined for Saudi Arabia, operatives intercepted another shipment on Wednesday, April 23rd, at a courier firm.
This time, 46 wraps of cocaine weighing 547 grams were found hidden within body cream also en route to the Middle East. In the same operation, authorities seized 1.8 kilograms of pentazocine injection and 60 grams of bromazepam tablets being shipped to Canada.
Further demonstrating their vigilance, NDLEA officers at the Seme border area in Badagry, Lagos, arrested three Ghanaian women on Sunday, April 20th, at the Gbaji checkpoint.
Haziza Zubairu, 42; Samirat Mustapha, 43; and Jamila Salifu, 26, were caught attempting to smuggle a combined 4.8 kilograms of “Ghana Loud,” another potent cannabis strain, into Nigeria.