Saudi-bound trafficker conceals cocaine in sandals

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Sunday confirmed the arrest of a 56-year-old cocaine trafficker, Lawal Oyenuga, who was on a mission to deliver 400grams of the class A drug concealed in a pair of palm sandals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a statement, also said a wanted notorious kingpin, Wasiu Gbolahan, aka Teacher, who recruits mules for the cartel, was also arrested.

Babafemi said, “The NDLEA operatives attached to the screening point of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, had on Thursday, November 24, intercepted Lawal Oyenuga with a pair of black palm sandals packed in the luggage he was going with to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airways flight.

“A thorough examination of the sandals revealed they were used to conceal two parcels of cocaine weighing 400 grams. This is barely a week after a 56-year-old widow and mother of four, Ajisegiri Sidika, was arrested at the airport over her attempt to traffic 400 grams of cocaine concealed in her footwear to Makkah, Saudi Arabia, on board a Qatar Airways flight.

“In his statement, Oyenuga claimed he was recruited to traffic the drug by Wasiu Gbolahan, popularly known as Teacher, adding that he was first given some pellets of cocaine to swallow but when he couldn’t do that, then he was given the ones concealed in the palm sandals. He said he resorted to the criminal trade to raise money to pay an examination fee for his daughter who is in Senior Secondary School class 3.”

Babafemi said the agency’s database revealed that Gbolahan had been linked to some previous attempts to traffic cocaine to Saudi Arabia and Dubai, UAE, adding that he was earlier named as the one who recruited a BRT driver, Bolajoko Babalola, for Lagos socialite and owner of Adekaz Hotels, Alhaji Ademola Kazeem, aka Alhaji Abdallah Kazeem Muhammed, to traffic drugs to Dubai.

“Bolajoko was arrested on June 27 while taking 900 grams of cocaine to Dubai while Ademola Kazeem was nabbed on Thursday November 10, barely 10 days after he was declared wanted by the NDLEA. A follow up operation in the early hours of Friday, November 25, led to the arrest of the kingpin, (Gbolahan) Teacher, who specialises in recruiting mules for drug barons in Lagos and its environs at his residence located in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.”

In another follow up operation to the seizure of 1.10kg cannabis concealed in bottles of body cream going to Dubai on September 9, Babafemi said the actual owner of the consignment, Wordul Chukwuemeka, who runs a boutique business in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was arrested on Thursday, November 24.

Babafemi also confirmed arrests of two freight agents, Nwazuru Georgewill and Saheed Muritala; a Brazilian returnee, Iroegbute Francis; and a notorious cripple, Ibrahim Yusuf, one Uzoma Kingsley, for drug related offences.

He also said Ismaila Abubakar, Sunday Mathias, Onyebuchi Chime, Richard Ebong and Nze Abraham, Adebayo Rahmat, Muhsin Abdullahi, Lawal Rabe, Basiru Muhammadu, and Saidu Yusuf, among others, were arrested for similar offense.

(Punch)