Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a high-profile drug baron, Alhaji Suleiman Ganiu Aremu, also known as “Barryshine.”
The Explainer gathered the arrest took place on August 26, 2024, after a meticulous two-year investigation into a series of foiled cocaine smuggling attempts to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, revealed that Aremu, the Managing Director/CEO of Barryshine Suleiman Nigeria Ltd, had been on the agency’s watchlist since November 2022.
His alleged involvement in four separate cocaine trafficking incidents between 2022 and 2024, through Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), prompted the extensive manhunt.
The investigation began on November 13, 2022, when authorities arrested Alhaja Ajisegiri Kehinde Sidika, a female passenger on a Qatar Airlines flight to Saudi Arabia, with 400 grams of cocaine concealed in female footwear.
NDLEA operatives uncovered that Aremu’s brother, Abdullahi Olarenwaju Ramon, had recruited the courier, while Aremu himself allegedly financed the operation.
In a related incident on November 24, 2022, another mule, Lawal Lateef Oyenuga, was apprehended with an identical quantity of cocaine hidden in male footwear.
Oyenuga implicated Wasiu Sanni Gbolahan, later convicted, who reportedly connected him to Aremu through an associate known as “Igbono.”
The NDLEA’s persistence paid off on June 21, 2024, with the arrest of two more couriers en route to Doha, Qatar. Aikhomoun Daniel and Ayigoro Waheed Omobolaji were found carrying substantial amounts of ingested cocaine, further solidifying the case against Aremu’s cartel.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the agency’s efforts, stating, “This demonstrates that the long arm of the law will always catch up with whoever is involved in the criminal trade, no matter how long it takes.”
Aremu, who claims to be involved in property development and holds the traditional title of Akeweje of Yaba, maintains residences in both Lagos and Paris.
The NDLEA has traced and identified several properties linked to him, including two houses in Ebute-Meta and the Barryshine hotel in Yaba, Lagos.
In a related legal development, Justice Dipeolu Deinde Isaac of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has granted the NDLEA’s request to extend Aremu’s detention for 30 days.
The court also declared two of Aremu’s associates, Oluwafemi Akande Abidoye and Olanrewaju Abdullahi Ramon, as wanted fugitives.
Marwa emphasized, “There is no hiding place for barons,” signaling the NDLEA’s determination to dismantle drug cartels and bring their leaders to justice.
