TheCable

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested one Asekun Kehinde Sakiru, for drug trafficking.

According to a statement on Wednesday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said Sakiru has been on the agency’s wanted list since December 2020 “in connection to a case involving one Azeez Adeniyi Ibrahim who was arrested with 6.45kg of cocaine”.

Sakiru, a former vice chairman of Lagos Island east local council development area (LCDA), was said to have been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, at about 9:40pm on May 7.

He was said to have trying to board a Virgin Atlantic airline flight to London, United Kingdom.

“At the point of his arrest, Asekun was caught with a kilogramme of cocaine concealed in five pairs of palm slippers packed inside his suitcase,” the statement read.

“During preliminary investigation, it was gathered that the London-based baron is a seasoned politician.

“He was at different times between 2004 and 2014 the vice chairman of Lagos Island East LCDA. He had also contested and lost elections for house of representatives in 2007 and Lagos state house of assembly in 2015.

“Although he claims to be an international businessman who deals in automobiles, investigation is yet to confirm that to be the source of his acquired wealth.

“In the course of tracking him, the sum of N131million was seized from his account, and another N14 million also blocked in the account of one of his traffickers, Azeez Adeniyi Ibrahim, bringing the total sum so far recovered from him to N145 million.”

While commending the officers and men of the MMIA command, Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, said the agency is committed to ridding the country of drug traffickers.

“This arrest is yet another message and red alert to those still in this criminal trade, whether as barons or traffickers, that they will soon enter the dragnet of the Agency, daily being spread across the country, if they fail to back out especially now that we are moving all out for the barons and the big cartels while we continue to rein in the traffickers,” he said.

As of March 2011, Asekun — a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at the time — was appointed to coordinate security for the LCDA elections in Lagos.