Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Lagos-based pastor and his wife after discovering 11 kilograms of skunk hidden in secret compartments of their SUV.
The suspects, Pastor Afolabi Hodonu, 45, who oversees the Celestial Church of Christ at Agonvi Sea Beach, Sakpo area of Seme border in Badagry, and his wife, Mrs. Success Hodonu, 35, were apprehended on Thursday, April 2, at the Gbaji checkpoint.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, a search of the couple’s Honda Pilot SUV revealed blocks of skunk carefully concealed in modified sections of the vehicle.
“The arrest of Pastor Afolabi Hodonu and his wife, Success Hodonu, came after a search of their SUV at the Gbaji checkpoint on April 2, which uncovered 11 kilograms of skunk hidden in secret compartments,” Babafemi said.
The operation followed an earlier arrest at the same checkpoint on Monday, March 30, when a fake security agent, Sunday Samuel, 35, was caught transporting 24.5 kilograms of skunk from the Seme border to Lagos. Investigations from that seizure led authorities to the pastor and his wife.
In a separate operation at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted 3.10 kilograms of cocaine concealed in tins of palm kernel extract destined for the United Kingdom. Two suspects, Idris Olayiwola Amoo and Akinlami Akinsoji Adedoyin, were arrested, with subsequent investigations leading to the apprehension of Ezemuwo Joel and the syndicate leader, King Arinze, 52, in Isolo, Lagos. Authorities recovered 886 tins used for concealing drugs and packaging equipment from his warehouse.
Additionally, a female drug supplier, 28-year-old Aisha Adamu, was arrested in Borno State along Gamboru Ngala road while transporting 4.3 kilograms of a potent synthetic cannabis strain known as Colorado to bandit groups operating between the North East and Chad.
Nationwide, the agency recorded further seizures including 48,000 tramadol pills in Adamawa, 1,378 kilograms of skunk in Edo State, and the arrest of a suspected dealer in Ibadan who allegedly employed her 11-year-old daughter to distribute narcotics.
NDLEA Chairman and CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the operatives involved, emphasizing the agency’s commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks regardless of status or method of concealment. “These operations highlight our growing intelligence capabilities and determination to disrupt the supply chains of drug cartels. We will locate traffickers even if they hide behind legitimate businesses, religious titles, or elaborate concealment strategies,” he stated.
