Cocaine, N145m Seized As NDLEA Arrests Ex-Vice Chairman Of Lagos Island

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
have arrested a notorious drug baron and former Vice Chairman of
Lagos Island East Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Asekun
Kehinde Sakiru.

He was arrested by NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

The spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said Sakiru has been
on the wanted list of the agency since the arrest of some
traffickers.

According to him, the long arm of the law however caught up with
the wanted baron at about 9.40pm on Friday 7 May, 2021 while trying
to board a Virgin Atlantic airline flight to London at the Lagos
airport.

“At the point of his arrest, Asekun was caught with one
kilogramme of cocaine concealed in five pairs of palm slippers
packed inside his suitcase. He has been on the wanted list of the
MMIA Command of the Agency in connection to a case involving one
Azeez Adeniyi Ibrahim who was arrested with 6.45kg of cocaine in
December, 2020.

“During preliminary investigation, it was gathered that the
London-based baron is a seasoned politician. He was at different
times between 2004 and 2014 the vice chairman of Lagos Island East
LCDA. He had also contested and lost elections for House of
Representatives in 2007 and Lagos State House of Assembly in 2015,”
Babafemi said.

He said the suspect though claims to be an international
businessman who deals in automobiles, investigation is yet to
confirm that to be the source of his acquired wealth.

In the course of tracking him, N131 million was seized from his
account and another N14m also blocked in the account of one of his
traffickers, Azeez Adeniyi Ibrahim, bringing the total sum so far
recovered from him to N145m.

The Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Buba
Marwa (Retd), said, “This arrest is yet another message and red
alert to those still in this criminal trade whether as barons or
traffickers that they will soon enter the dragnet of the agency,
daily being spread across the country. If they fail to back out
especially now that we are moving all out for the barons and the
big cartels while we continue to reign in the traffickers.”

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
have arrested a notorious drug baron and former Vice Chairman of
Lagos Island East Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Asekun
Kehinde Sakiru.

He was arrested by NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

The spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said Sakiru has been
on the wanted list of the agency since the arrest of some
traffickers.

According to him, the long arm of the law however caught up with
the wanted baron at about 9.40pm on Friday 7 May, 2021 while trying
to board a Virgin Atlantic airline flight to London at the Lagos
airport.

“At the point of his arrest, Asekun was caught with one
kilogramme of cocaine concealed in five pairs of palm slippers
packed inside his suitcase. He has been on the wanted list of the
MMIA Command of the Agency in connection to a case involving one
Azeez Adeniyi Ibrahim who was arrested with 6.45kg of cocaine in
December, 2020.

“During preliminary investigation, it was gathered that the
London-based baron is a seasoned politician. He was at different
times between 2004 and 2014 the vice chairman of Lagos Island East
LCDA. He had also contested and lost elections for House of
Representatives in 2007 and Lagos State House of Assembly in 2015,”
Babafemi said.

He said the suspect though claims to be an international
businessman who deals in automobiles, investigation is yet to
confirm that to be the source of his acquired wealth.

In the course of tracking him, N131 million was seized from his
account and another N14m also blocked in the account of one of his
traffickers, Azeez Adeniyi Ibrahim, bringing the total sum so far
recovered from him to N145m.

The Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Buba
Marwa (Retd), said, “This arrest is yet another message and red
alert to those still in this criminal trade whether as barons or
traffickers that they will soon enter the dragnet of the agency,
daily being spread across the country. If they fail to back out
especially now that we are moving all out for the barons and the
big cartels while we continue to reign in the traffickers.”