Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a wanted drug kingpin and Lagos socialite, Alhaja Aishat Feyisara Ajoke Elediye.
Alhaja Ajoke, 61, was arrested on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, in her mansion at Okota area of Lagos following the interception of a truckload of illicit drug consignment linked to her staff on the same day.
The Director, Media & Advocacy of NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi disclosed this in a statement made available to thelensng on Sunday.
According to the statement, Alhaja Ajoke as she is fondly called in her social circle and “Iya Ruka” as she is known in the drug underworld, has her true identity shrouded in mystery for years while she remained on the wanted list of the Agency for leading one of the drug cartels operating from Mushin area of Lagos.
“The lid was however blown off her invincibility on Wednesday 1st January 2025 when NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence intercepted a white Izuzu truck carrying 44 jumbo sacks containing 1,540 kilograms of imported cannabis and driven by one of her staff, 41-year-old Abideen Adio. Thereafter, the operatives stormed her hideout at 33 Adebayo Oyewole street, off Ago Palace way, Okota, where they arrested her.
“On the surface, Alhaja Ajoke is a businesswoman who imports fabrics and shoes from China but beneath is a massive illicit drug trade. She is also recognized as the Iyalaje of Blessing Sisters, an influential club of society women in Lagos,” Babafemi stated.
In another major operation, NDLEA officers on Friday, December 27, 2024 nabbed a US-trained Hollywood and Nollywood filmmaker, Emeka Emmanuel Mbadiwe, who is also a motivational speaker.
Mbadiwe was apprehended at his Lekki Hotel room following the arrest of his partner, Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James, earlier same day at a warehouse in Ajao estate Ikeja, where he was sent to collect a shipment of 33 parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 17.30 kilograms, which arrived the Import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, on 24th December 2024 from the United States on a Delta Airline flight, concealed in large wooden boxes.
Similarly, an ex-convict, Sodade Sunday Eniola, who was arrested by operatives of the Tincan Command of NDLEA in June, 2024, for drug trafficking, prosecuted and sentenced to four years in prison has been re-arrested by officers of the MMIA Strategic Command of the Agency for passport racketeering.
Babafemi noted that when he was convicted by a Federal High Court in Lagos on June 14, 2024, the trial judge gave him an option of paying ₦750,000 fine, which he paid and was let go.
However, in series of operations in December 2024, NDLEA operatives at the export shed of the Lagos airport intercepted no fewer than 52 passports of different countries from shipments going to Canada, Russia, and other countries concealed in shoe soles and food items.
The spokeperson revealed that further investigations led to the arrest of four members of three syndicates involved in the racket. The arrested suspects include: Sodade Sunday Eniola; Ayinde Saheed Awwal; Salaudeen Afeez Ayode; and Sheriff Adebayo Bamigbade.
“Both the exhibits and the suspects were on Monday 30th December 2024 handed over to the Zonal Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service in Lagos for further investigation and possible prosecution.”
The statement added: “Not less than 316, 800 bottles of codeine-based syrup were recovered from two containers by NDLEA officers at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne Rivers State during a joint examination of the shipments with men of Nigeria Customs and other security agencies on Tuesday 31st December 2024. The seizure followed credible intelligence processed by the Port Harcourt Port Command of the Agency.
“In Kano, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday 31st December 2024 raided Mafarki, Dan Dishe area of Dala LG where they recovered 149, 090 pills of tramadol and exol-5 from a local dealer, 45-year-old Ismail Muhammad.”
In the same vein, the Commands and formations of the agency 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.
The activities include WADA sensitisation lecture to traders at Ido-Osi Central Market, Ido Ekiti, Ekiti State; and Muslim faithful during their Juma’at prayer at Birnin Kudu Central Mosque, Jigawa State, among others.
Reacting to the arrests and seizures, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa commended the officers and men of MMIA, Lagos, Kano, PHPC and Kwara Commands of the Agency.
Marwa stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.
