By Deborah Nnamdi
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a pastor and his wife in Lagos after uncovering 11 kilograms of skunk concealed in hidden compartments of their vehicle.
The suspects, Pastor Afolabi Hodonu, 45, said to be in charge of the Celestial Church of Christ, Agonvi Sea Beach, Sakpo area of Seme border, Badagry, and his wife, Mrs Success Hodonu, 35, were apprehended on Thursday, April 2, at the Gbaji checkpoint.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, a search of the couple’s Honda Pilot SUV led to the recovery of the illicit substance, which had been carefully hidden within modified sections of the vehicle.
Babafemi explained that the arrest followed an earlier interception at the same checkpoint on March 30, when operatives apprehended a suspected fake security agent, Sunday Samuel, 35, while transporting 24.5 kilograms of skunk from the Seme border to Lagos. Investigations into that seizure reportedly led to the arrest of the cleric and his wife.
He added that the development was part of a series of coordinated anti-narcotics operations carried out by the agency across the country within the past week.
In a related operation, NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, intercepted 3.10 kilograms of cocaine concealed in tins of palm kernel extract bound for the United Kingdom. Two suspects, Idris Olayiwola Amoo and Akinlami Akinsoji Adedoyin, were arrested, while further intelligence-led operations led to the arrest of the alleged sender, Ezemuwo Joel, and a suspected syndicate leader, King Arinze, 52, in Isolo, Lagos. Items recovered from the warehouse included 886 tins prepared for drug concealment and packaging tools.
In another operation in Borno State, operatives arrested a 28-year-old woman, Aisha Adamu, suspected of supplying drugs to bandit groups operating between the North-East and Chad. She was intercepted along the Gamboru Ngala road with 4.3 kilograms of Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
The agency also recorded multiple seizures nationwide, including 48,000 tramadol pills in Adamawa, the recovery of 1,378 kilograms of skunk from a warehouse in Edo State, and the arrest of a suspected dealer in Ibadan who allegedly used her 11-year-old daughter to distribute drugs.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations, reaffirming the agency’s resolve to dismantle drug trafficking networks regardless of status or concealment tactics.
“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.
