The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Bariu Aliu, also known as “Malo,”, the traditional chief priest of the Igunuko Shrine in the Alpha Beach area of Ajah, Lagos, following a three-month manhunt.
The arrest came after operatives recovered 2,760 kilograms of skunk from the shrine on October 25, 2024.
In a statement released on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that Aliu was identified as the leader of a drug syndicate operating from the shrine.
Babafemi stated: “In Lagos, the traditional chief priest of the Igunuko shrine at Alpha Beach, Ajah Lekki, where 2,760kg of skunk was recovered on October 25, 2024, Bariu Aliu (alias Malo), has been arrested by NDLEA operatives after a three-month manhunt.”
“Though two of his accomplices were arrested at the shrine last year and subsequently charged and convicted in court, Bariu was identified as the syndicate leader,” the statement noted.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 40-foot trailer loaded with 2,217.6 kilograms of skunk in the Kagini area of Kubwa district of Abuja. The intelligence-led raid, conducted in the early hours of January 11, 2025, uncovered the trailer being used to distribute the drugs into six vehicles for transportation to States in northern Nigeria.
“The intelligence-led operation, which took place at 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, January 11, 2025, led to the seizure of the large illicit consignment, the trailer, six vehicles—including a Toyota Van, Toyota Camry, Toyota Sienna, a JAC 4-wheel-drive Hilux, a Toyota Corolla, and a Vento Passat—and the arrest of a suspect, 42-year-old Isaac Monday Desmond.”
The consignment was reportedly loaded in Uzebba, Owan Local Government Area of Edo State.
Also, NDLEA officers arrested two suspects, Anthony Nnamdi (42) and Abba Ali (27), recovering 1.398 kilograms of cocaine and a precursor substance used for crack cocaine production in Nyanya, Abuja.
In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, 338,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup, valued at over ₦1.19 billion, were seized from two containers during a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs, and other security agencies at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne.
In Gadar Tamburawa, along Zaria Road, 23-year-old suspect Habibu Ya’u was arrested on January 9. NDLEA operatives recovered 45 blocks of cannabis (weighing 24.2 kilograms) and 40,800 pills of opioids, including tramadol.
20 wraps of cocaine, weighing 330 grams, concealed in face cream containers, were also intercepted in a shipment bound for Australia at a logistics firm at Lagos Airport.
