The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Lagos-based pastor who twice slipped through its dragnet over alleged shipments of cannabis from Ghana.
Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele, founder of The Turn of Mercy Church and also known as Abbas Ajakaiye, was picked up on Sunday, August 3, at his church in Okun Ajah, Lekki.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said operatives had laid in wait until the end of the Sunday service before arresting him as he stepped out of the premises.
The agency accused the cleric of masterminding the movement of 200kg of cannabis seized at Okun Ajah Beach on June 4 and another 700kg recovered from a delivery van on July 6. He allegedly fled to Ghana in June to avoid arrest.
“In his statement, he admitted ferrying the consignments through waterways from Ghana,” Babafemi said.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives raided an apartment at Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, on August 7 and arrested one Benjamin Ukoh, recovering 15.63kg of Canadian Loud.
In Nasarawa, three suspects were arrested on August 9 with over three tonnes of cannabis in New Karu, while in Kano, a man was caught with 359kg of the same substance in Kumbotso. Another suspect was held along Zaria–Kano road with 9kg of synthetic cannabis.
In Gombe, a raid in Tudun Wadan Pantami yielded over 550,000 opioid pills, while in Edo, a commercial bus from Onitsha was intercepted with tramadol and other drugs, leading to the arrest of its driver.
NDLEA Chairman Brig-Gen Buba Marwa (retd) commended the officers and urged them to sustain the momentum in drug control efforts.
