The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended Sulaiman Jimoh, a notorious drug cartel leader known as “Temo,” following a dramatic standoff in Lagos. The 57-year-old suspect was taken into custody on Monday, after attempting to flee from NDLEA operatives at his residence in Mushin.
NDLEA Director of Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, revealed in a statement on Wednesday that the agency deployed 50 operatives to the area when Jimoh tried to escape in a Mercedes Benz SUV GLE 350 with the license plate 01G-300G.
“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,” Babafemi stated.
The arrest came after a tense confrontation between NDLEA agents and Jimoh’s armed associates. Despite the exchange of gunfire, the operatives managed to overpower and apprehend the suspect without any reported casualties.
Several significant drug seizures were linked to Jimoh’s operation in recent months. On January 28, 2024, the agency intercepted 14,524.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud, a potent strain of cannabis sativa, smuggled into Lagos from Ghana. The drugs were concealed in two trucks and a J5 bus, which were stopped in the Ojuelegba area of Lagos.
Additionally, on May 4, 2023, two truckloads of cannabis sativa weighing 8,852kg were seized at Eleko beach, Lekki. Another raid on July 26, 2023, resulted in the confiscation of 252kg of Loud from Jimoh’s hideout in Mushin.
NDLEA Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the efforts of the Lagos State Command, the Special Monitoring Task Force, and other units involved in Jimoh’s arrest and the dismantling of his drug cartel.
“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,” Marwa declared.
