Agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested five persons after busting a major drug warehouse located in Lagos on Monday.

In the warehouse found in a secluded estate in the Ikorodu area of Lagos was kept 1,855 kilograms of illicit drugs, worth more than N194 billion, according to the NDLEA.

Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s spokesperson, said in a statement on Monday that this appeared to be the agency’s biggest single catch.

“At least, four drug barons including a Jamaican and the warehouse manager have been arrested in the well-coordinated and intelligence-led operation that lasted two days across different locations in Lagos State,” the statement read in part.

“Kingpins of the cocaine cartel in custody include Soji Jibril, 69, an indigene of Ibadan, Oyo State; Emmanuel Chukwu, 65, who hails from Ekwulobia, Anambra State; Wasiu Akinade, 53, from Ibadan, Oyo State; Sunday Oguntelure, 53, from Okitipupa, Ondo State and Kelvin Smith, 42, a native of Kingston, Jamaica.

“They are all members of an international drug syndicate that the agency has been trailing since 2018.”

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According to preliminary investigation by the agency, the class A drug was warehoused in the residential estate from where the cartel was trying to sell it to buyers in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world.

“The drugs were stored in 10 travel bags and 13 drums. The warehouse was raided on Sunday 18th September, while the barons were picked from hotels and their hideouts in different parts of Lagos between Sunday night and Monday 19th September,” the agency stated.

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Mohammed Buba Marwa, the NDLEA chairman, commended the officers of the agency and the American Drug Enforcement Agency (US-DEA) for the extensive investigation involved and said that the bust was a historic blow to drug cartels.

He also noted that the investigation should serve as a strong warning to all drug cartels that they would all go down if they failed to realise that the game had changed.