NDLEA arrests notorious Lagos drug baron, seizes over 1.7 tonnes of cannabis
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a wanted drug baron, Frank Chijioke Ibemesi, popularly known as Chisco Bee, following weeks of intelligence gathering and surveillance. The 42-year-old businessman and hotelier, who heads Franc CJ Ibemesi Nig Ltd, was picked up by operatives of the Special Operations Unit at his Daisy Garden Hotel on Ago Palace Way, Isolo, Lagos, in the early hours of Saturday, 15 November.
A raid on his warehouse at Pius Ezeobi Street, Isolo, led to the recovery of 42 jumbo bags and four cartons of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 1,762.8 kilograms. Cash recovered from him included $11,600, £2,000, €2,200 and 50 Canadian dollars.
In Osun State, NDLEA operatives foiled an attempt by a drug syndicate to distribute 11,135 kilograms of processed skunk from the Orita-Apeje, Araromi-Okeodo forest reserve in Ife South LGA. Two trucks conveying the illicit drugs were seized, while seven suspects were arrested.
A total of 1,902.1 kilograms of skunk were recovered in separate operations across Edo State. These included seizures along Oza/Igbanke road, Utese forest, and the Benin-Akure highway where two suspects, Felix Edah and Lucky Abagha, were arrested while transporting large quantities of the substance.
Four suspects were arrested in Ogun State with 68 kilograms of skunk and 3.150 kilograms of methamphetamine along the Ijebu-Ode expressway, while in Taraba State, Danjuma Tukura and Wisdom Titus were arrested with a combined 256 kilograms of skunk. In Adamawa, 396,000 tramadol capsules were seized from a suspect at the Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, while 785 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a warehouse in Nasarawa State.
In Lagos, two suspects, Jamiu Kunle Kardoso and Oriyomi Waliu, were arrested with 65.150 kilograms of Canadian Loud in Surulere, while Taofeek Moraina was nabbed with 141 kilograms of Ghana Loud in Oyingbo. NDLEA operatives in Kwara State also intercepted a truck carrying 78.565 kilograms of skunk and arrested its driver, alongside another arrest involving 20 blocks of skunk concealed in a jerrycan.
Across the country, NDLEA commands continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities, including sessions in Zamfara, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Enugu, Lagos and Ogun states.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the various commands for the arrests and seizures, urging officers to maintain the agency’s balanced and sustained approach to drug control nationwide.
