January 05, (THEWILL) – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has apprehended 61-year-old Lagos socialite, Alhaja Aishat Elediye, and US-trained Hollywood and Nollywood filmmaker, Emeka Mbadiwe, for their alleged involvement in illicit drug operations.
In a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the agency revealed that Ajoke, popularly known as “Iya Ruka,” was arrested on January 1, 2025, at her mansion in the Okota area of Lagos.
Her arrest followed the interception of a truck carrying 1,540 kilograms of imported cannabis.
The truck, a white Isuzu, was driven by her employee, 41-year-old Abideen Adio, who was stopped while attempting to transport the illicit substance.
Acting on intelligence, NDLEA operatives raided Ajoke’s residence at 33 Adebayo Oyewole Street, off Ago Palace Way, where she was taken into custody.
Though outwardly known as a businesswoman dealing in fabrics and shoes from China, investigations revealed Ajoke’s role as the leader of a drug cartel operating from Mushin, Lagos. She is also the Iyalaje of Blessing Sisters, a prominent social club in Lagos.
In a separate operation, NDLEA officers arrested filmmaker Emeka Emmanuel Mbadiwe on December 27, 2024, at a hotel in Lekki. His arrest came after the apprehension of his associate, Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James, earlier the same day at a warehouse in Ajao Estate, Ikeja.
James was caught receiving a shipment of 33 parcels of “Loud,” a potent cannabis strain weighing 17.3 kilograms, which had arrived from the United States on a Delta Airlines flight on December 24, 2024. The consignment was concealed in large wooden boxes.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives arrested two young women—24-year-old Khadijat Abdulraheem and 20-year-old Ayomide Morakinyo, a University of Ilorin student—on December 29, 2024. Acting on intelligence, the duo was found producing and selling drug-laced cupcakes to students in Ilorin. A search of their residence yielded 42 pieces of the drugged cakes.
An ex-convict, Sodade Sunday Eniola, who had been jailed in June 2024 for drug trafficking, was re-arrested by NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport for passport racketeering.
In December 2024, NDLEA operatives intercepted 52 passports concealed in shoe soles and food items during export inspections at the Lagos airport. Further investigations led to the arrest of four suspects involved in the syndicate: Sodade Sunday Eniola, Ayinde Saheed Awwal, Salaudeen Afeez Ayode, and Sheriff Adebayo Bamigbade.
The suspects and exhibits were handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Service for further investigation and prosecution.
In Port Harcourt, NDLEA officers intercepted 316,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup during a joint operation with the Nigeria Customs Service at the Onne Port Complex on December 31, 2024.
In Kano, operatives raided a hideout in the Mafarki area of Dala Local Government on the same day, seizing 149,090 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 from a dealer, 45-year-old Ismail Muhammad.
The NDLEA also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation efforts across the country, reaching markets, mosques, schools, and workplaces.
Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), lauded the agency’s officers for their operational successes. “Your dedication to reducing both drug supply and demand is commendable,” he said, while urging continued vigilance in the fight against drug abuse.
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