NDLEA arrests two wanted drug barons, others for ingesting 175 wraps of heroin

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have nab two wanted drug barons following weeks of intelligence-led operations across the country and outside Nigeria.

A statement by the NDLEA Sunday disclosed that the drug lords, Hakeem Babatunde Salami, the arrowhead of “Tajudeen Babatunde Abioye Transnational Criminal Organisation,” and Okafor Ikechukwu Williams, were arrested on October 5 and 10, respectively.

The statement also revealed that two other traffickers were nabbed for ingesting 175 wraps of heroin.

The statement read: “Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have taken into custody two wanted heads of transnational criminal organisations with a multi-billion-naira worth of illicit drugs and assets seized from them after weeks of intelligence-led operations across the country and outside Nigeria.

The arrest of the wanted drug lords came on the heels of the interception of consignments of cocaine and heroin buried in the bellies of two traffickers heading to Paris, France, and Doha, Qatar by NDLEA officers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja.

“Operatives at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos on Tuesday October 10 succeeded in taking into custody Hakeem Babatunde Salami, the arrowhead of “Tajudeen Babatunde Abioye Transnational Criminal Organization” involved in the illicit trade of several narcotics including Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine, and Ephedrine between Nigeria, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Mozambique, and Europe.

“In his statement, he claimed he was into importing building materials from China to Nigeria and used to sell gold in South Africa before delving into the illicit drug trade about two years ago.