The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has busted a transnational drug cartel smuggling ephedrine, skunk, and laughing gas to South Africa and Kenya through the Muritala Muhammed Airport, Lagos. 

The agency seized the drugs hidden in Semovita packs and dry pepper and arrested some of the traffickers while others are on the run.

The NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said that on Friday, 25th August, they caught Suleiman Babatunde Oba, a notorious drug trafficker who was trying to board a flight to South Africa with two boxes of ephedrine wrapped in semovita packs. 

“Through credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Friday 25th August intercepted a notorious drug trafficker, Suleiman Babatunde Oba who is a member of a cartel distributing cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and ephedrine between Nigeria, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Mozambique, and Europe”. He said

Oba named Hakeem Babatunde Salami as the cartel’s leader, and the agency raided Salami’s house in Surulere, Lagos, on Monday, 28th August, but he had already fled the country. 

Two luxury cars, phones, and documents were recovered from his house. The spokesman said Salami’s cartel was also linked to the seizure of 25.60kgs ephedrine at the Lagos airport in August 2021. Godwin Shedrack, an airport official, was allegedly part of the syndicate and has since been under investigation.

On a different case, the spokesman said that on Saturday, 26th August, they foiled another attempt by a different syndicate to export 10.40kgs skunk to Nairobi, Kenya. The skunk was concealed with scent leaf and pepper. Ekechukwu Sixtus Ndubuisi was arrested in connection with the case.

He also added that they intercepted 180 canisters of laughing gas meant for South Africa on Friday, 25th August

Furthermore, he said that they arrested Ngene Emmanuel Onyedikachi, a drug kingpin who recruited a fake couple caught with cocaine in their stomachs at the Lagos airport on 1st August while heading to India. Onyedikachi confessed that he got the drug from Guinea Conakry and met his accomplice at Zion Church in the Cele area of Lagos.