The suspects, Pastor Afolabi Hodonu and Mrs. Success Hodonu were immediately arrested.
The 45-year-old man, who is said to be in charge of the Celestial Church of Christ, Agonvi Sea Beach, Sakpo area of Seme border, Badagry; and his 35-year-old wife were reportedly apprehended last Thursday at the Gbaji checkpoint.
In statement on Sunday, NDLEA’s spokesperson, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said that a search of the couple’s Honda Pilot SUV led to the recovery of the illicit substance, carefully hidden within modified sections of the vehicle.
Babafemi said that the arrest followed an earlier interception at the same checkpoint last Monday when operatives apprehended a fake security agent, 35-year-old Sunday Samuel, while transporting 24.5 kilograms of skunk from Seme border to Lagos.
He added that investigations into the seizure reportedly led to the arrest of the cleric and his wife.
‘The development was part of a series of operations conducted by the anti-narcotics agency across the country within the past week’, Babafemi said.
In a related operation, the NDLEA spokesperson said that officers of the agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted 3.10 kilograms of cocaine concealed in tins of palm kernel extract bound for the United Kingdom.
Babafemi added that two suspects, Idris Olayiwola Amoo and Akinlami Akinsoji Adedoyin, were arrested, while subsequent intelligence-led operations led to the arrest of the alleged sender, Ezemuwo Joel, and the syndicate kingpin, King Arinze, 52, in Isolo, Lagos.
‘Items recovered from his warehouse included 886 tins prepared for drug concealment and tools used for packaging’, he added.
He also said that operatives arrested a suspected female terrorist drug supplier in Borno State.
‘In a separate but equally significant operation in Borno State, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, 1 April intercepted a female drug supplier to bandit groups operating between the North East and Chad, 28-year-old Aisha Adamu.
‘She was arrested along Gamboru Ngala road in possession of 4.3 kilograms of Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis’, he said.
According to Babafemi, other arrests were recorded nationwide, including the seizure of 48,000 tramadol pills in Adamawa State; recovery of 1,378 kilograms of skunk from a warehouse in Edo State; and arrest of a suspected dealer in Ibadan who allegedly used her 11-year-old daughter to distribute drugs.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended officers involved in the operations, noting that the agency would continue to target traffickers regardless of status.
‘These successful operations are a testament to the agency’s evolving intelligence capabilities and our unwavering commitment to choking the supply lines of drug cartels. Whether they hide behind legitimate businesses, religious titles, or complex concealment methods, we will find them’, he said.
