The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has arrested a popular drug cartel lord, Sulaiman Jimoh, popularly known as Temo.
The 57-year-old was apprehended on Monday, 22 July, after a standoff with NDLEA operatives at his Lagos residence in Mushin.
According to a statement by the Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, on Wednesday, 50 operatives were dispatched to his area when he tried to flee in a Mercedes Benz SUV GLE 350 marked 01G-300G.
His men engaged NDLEA operatives in a gunfight but were overpowered and arrested.
“In the last two years, the NDLEA had intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs worth billions of naira owned by Temo, but he has remained largely evasive while a few encounters with him and his armed gangs in his Mushin enclave had resulted in a gunfight,” the statement said.
Several items were seized from his possession, including 14 524.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud, a strong strain of cannabis sativa smuggled into Lagos from Ghana in two trucks and a J5 bus intercepted at the Ojuelegba area of Lagos in the early hours of Sunday, 28 January 2024.
The agency noted that on 4 May 2023, two truck-loads of cannabis sativa, weighing 8,852kg, were intercepted at Eleko beach, Lekki, while on Wednesday, 26 July 2023, 252kg of Loud was seized from his hideout at Mushin.
The Chairperson/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), while speaking on the arrest, commended the officers of the Lagos State Command, the Special Monitoring Task Force and other formations for arresting Temo and halting his drug cartel.
Mr Marwa expressed delight that no casualty was recorded as members of the task force were engaged in a gunfight with Temo’s men.
“This is, therefore, a clear message to others still involved in this criminal trade of illicit drugs that if they don’t opt out now, we will get them because we are just steps away from their doorsteps, and more importantly, they can only run, they can’t hide forever,” he said.