A Lagos socialite and a Nollywood filmmaker have been apprehended by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for their alleged involvement in illicit drug activities across Nigeria.
The arrests marked a significant development in the agency’s fight against drug cartels in the New Year.
On January 1, NDLEA operatives raided the Okota mansion of 61-year-old Aishat Elediye, a prominent socialite widely known as “Iya Ruka.”
Her arrest followed the interception of a white Izuzu truck carrying 44 jumbo sacks of imported cannabis, weighing 1,540 kilograms. The truck, driven by her employee, 41-year-old Abideen Adio, was seized during an operation in Lagos.
Further investigations revealed Elediye had been running a drug cartel in the Mushin area of Lagos while evading arrest for years.
The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that Elediye operated under the guise of a fabric and shoe importer from China, masking her extensive drug trade.
She was also a known figure in social circles, holding the title of Iyalaje of Blessing Sisters, an influential women’s club in Lagos.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested Emeka Mbadiwe, a motivational speaker and US-trained Nollywood filmmaker, at a hotel in Lekki.
His arrest followed the apprehension of his associate, Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James, at a warehouse in Ajao Estate, Ikeja. James was caught with 33 parcels of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 17.30 kilograms, which had been smuggled into the country from the United States on December 24, 2024. The drugs were concealed in wooden boxes and shipped via Delta Airlines.
Babafemi noted that Mbadiwe directed James to retrieve the shipment, which ultimately led to their capture.
In Ilorin, Kwara State, NDLEA operatives arrested two young dealers producing drug-laced cupcakes.
Khadijat Abdulraheem, a 24-year-old graduate, and Ayomide Morakinyo, a 20-year-old University of Ilorin student, were detained on December 29, 2024.
The agency recovered 42 pieces of drugged cupcakes from their apartment during a raid.
In another crackdown, ex-convict Sodade Eniola was rearrested for passport racketeering at Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
Eniola had previously been convicted of drug trafficking in June 2024 and fined N750,000 but was discovered smuggling passports concealed in shoe soles and food items.
The NDLEA also intercepted 316,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup during a joint operation with Customs in Port Harcourt on December 31, 2024.
Meanwhile, in Kano, operatives recovered over 149,090 pills of tramadol and exol-5 in a raid at Dala Local Government.
These operations underline the NDLEA’s ongoing efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks and curb substance abuse across the country.
