By Nicholas Ojo
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested the fleeing Alhaji Ademola Afolabi Kazeem (a.k.a Alhaji Abdallah Kazeem Muhammed) over offences bordering on exportation and trafficking of illicit drugs as well as money laundering.
NDLEA had declared Kazeem, a Lagos socialite and owner of Adekaz Hotels, wanted over alleged illicit drug trafficking.
The agency said Kazeem was declared wanted after he failed to honour NDLEA invitations and a subsequent order from a Federal High Court in Lagos. Alleging that the Lagos socialite was discovered as the sponsor of some illicit drug traffickers who were recently arrested while attempting to export cocaine to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the statement, the socialite went underground after one Bolujoko Muyiwa Babalola, a Lagos BRT driver, who acts as his mule was arrested in June.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Mr Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy of the agency stressed that the suspect was arrested ten days after he was declared wanted.
He affirmed that the search for him however paid off on Thursday 10th November when he was successfully taken into custody where he is currently being interviewed.
He said; “Ten days after he was declared wanted, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested fleeing Lagos socialite and owner of Adekaz Hotels, Alhaji Ademola Afolabi Kazeem (a.k.a Alhaji Abdallah Kazeem Muhammed) over offences bordering on exportation and trafficking of illicit drugs as well as money laundering.
“The Agency had on Tuesday 1st November declared the suspect wanted following his failure to honour NDLEA invitations and an order granted by a Federal High Court in Lagos. The wanted drug kingpin was uncovered as the sponsor of some traffickers arrested by the anti-narcotics agency in their recent attempt to export cocaine to Dubai, UAE and other destinations outside Nigeria.
“The search for him however paid off on Thursday 10th Nov when he was successfully taken into custody where he is currently being interviewed. His lid was blown open after the arrest of one of his mules, Bolujoko Muyiwa Babalola, a Lagos BRT driver on 27th June at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, when he named Alhaji Ademola Kazeem, alias Adekaz as the owner of the 900grams of cocaine he ingested.
“Following Adekazs failure to honour invitations sent to him, the Agency approached a Federal High Court in Lagos with three prayers: to attach and seal his identified properties in choice areas of Lagos island and Ibadan; declare him wanted and block his bank account with a cash balance of Two Hundred and Seventeen Million Naira (N217,000,000.00), all of which were granted,” he said.
Meanwhile, Femi Babafemi in the statement also confirmed that NDLEA have nabbed a woman, identified as Okefun Darlington Chisom over her connection with two Pakistani businessmen recently arrested in Nigeria for trafficking cocaine.
“NDLEA operatives also arrested a businesswoman, Okefun Darlington Chisom over her links with two Pakistanis: Asif Muhammed, 45 and Hussain Naveed, 57, arrested at the Lagos airport with 8 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a sound system while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Lahole (sic), Pakistan via Doha on Saturday, 5th November,” he added.