NDLEA Arrests Pastor, Dismantles Cocaine Syndicate

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency arrested a pastor and his wife in Lagos State on April 2 after discovering 11 kilograms of skunk hidden in their vehicle at a border checkpoint, part of a broader series of operations that dismantled a cocaine export syndicate and led to multiple drug seizures across Nigeria last week.

The suspects, identified as Afolabi Hodonu, 45, a pastor at the Celestial Church of Christ in Agonvi Sea Beach, Badagry, and his wife, Success Hodonu, 35, were apprehended at the Gbaji checkpoint along the Seme border while traveling in a Honda Pilot SUV. A search revealed the cannabis, locally known as skunk, concealed in modified compartments, according to Femi Babafemi, the agency's spokesperson. The arrest stemmed from intelligence gathered after NDLEA officers stopped Sunday Samuel, 35, on March 30 at the same location. Samuel, who posed as a security agent, was transporting 24.5 kilograms of skunk from the Seme border to Lagos.

In a separate but connected effort, NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted 3.10 kilograms of cocaine on March 11, hidden inside tins of palm kernel extract...