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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Wednesday said its operatives in Lagos State had arrested the leader of Lagos drug cartel Sulaiman Jimoh, popularly known as Temo.
The agency hinted that Temo had been evading arrest since he was declared wanted but was eventually nabbed.
His arrest comes after a drug baron, identified as Joachin Mbonu, was arrested in his mansion in Imo State on July 12 after fleeing from South Africa.
A statement issued by the NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said Temo was arrested at his hideout.
He said, “After many years of wearing the toga of invincibility, the overall head of the Mushin, Lagos drug cartel, 57-year-old Alhaji Sulaiman Jimoh (alias Olowoidiogede, popularly known as Temo), has been arrested by operatives of the NDLEA at his enclave after an initial resistance from him and his horde of hoodlums.”
Babafemi recalled that operatives of the NDLEA had seized drugs worth billions of naira from Temo.
Babafemi said, “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 gunfight.
“Some of the recent seizures of his shipments include: 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 Ojuelegba area of Lagos in the early hours of Sunday, 28th January 2024; two truck-loads of the same substance weighing 8,852kg intercepted at Eleko beach, Lekki, Lagos on 4th May 2023 and 252kg of Loud seized from his enclave in Mushin on Wednesday 26th July 2023. “Indeed, in the last two encounters, his men engaged NDLEA operatives in a gunfight."
Babafemi explained further, “The drug kingpin was very notorious for always being on the move to evade arrest but with persistence and determination of the Agency aided by modern tools and intelligence, the concerted effort to get him paid off at 10 am on Monday, July 22, 2024 when NDLEA’s surveillance team on his trail tracked and pinned him down at Igbarere Street, Mushin. A reinforcement of about 50 operatives was immediately mobilised to the area while he was attempting to escape in a Mercedes Benz SUV GLE 350 marked 01G-300G.
“His attempt to escape by mobilising hoodlums to engage and distract the operatives however failed after which he was overpowered and whisked away from the chaotic scene while his men surrendered to the superior firepower of the anti-narcotic agents who also succeeded in recovering the Mercedes Benz SUV the suspect was found in.”
Babafemi said the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd.) commended the officers and men of the Lagos State Command, Special Monitoring Task Force, and other formations for Temo’s arrest.
