The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency apprehended Bariu Aliu, a traditional chief priest of the Igunuko Shrine, in the Alpha Beach area of Ajah, Lekki, after a three-month manhunt. Bariu, popularly known as “Malo,” was caught after 2,760 kg of skunk were discovered at his shrine on October 25, 2024.
The agency’s spokeswoman, Femi Babafemi, stated on Sunday that, while two of Bariu’s associates were caught, charged, and sentenced last year, the top priest was recognized as the boss of the narcotics gang operating from the shrine.
Babafemi claimed, “In Lagos, the traditional head priest of the Igunuko temple at Alpha Beach, Ajah Lekki, where 2,760 kg of skunk was seized on October 25, 2024, Bariu Aliu (alias Malo), has been arrested by NDLEA operatives after a three-month manhunt.
“Though two of his accomplices were arrested at the shrine last year and subsequently charged and convicted in court,
Bariu was identified as the syndicate leader.” He further revealed that during an intelligence-led operation in the Kagini area of Kubwa, Abuja, officers intercepted a 40-foot trailer carrying 2,217.6 kg of skunk, a form of cannabis.
Babafemi stated, “A 40-foot trailer loaded with skunk weighing 2,217.6 kilograms was intercepted by NDLEA operatives while being dispersed into six vehicles at an abandoned petrol station in Kagini, Kubwa, Abuja, for onward distribution to several northern states.
“The intelligence-led operation, which took place at 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, January 11, 2025, resulted in the seizure of the large illicit consignment, the trailer, six vehicles—including a Toyota Van, Toyota Camry, Toyota Sienna, a JAC 4-wheel-drive Hilux, a Toyota Corolla, and a Vento Passat—and the arrest of a suspect, 42-year-old Isaac Monday Desmond.” “The consignment was loaded onto the trailer at Uzebba in the Owan Local Council Area of Edo State.”
In another raid in the FCT, NDLEA officers apprehended two suspects, Anthony Nnamdi, 42, and Abba Ali, 27, in Nyanya, and seized 1.398 kg of cocaine and a precursor material used in crack cocaine production.
Babafemi further stated that 20 wraps of cocaine weighing 330 grams were intercepted from a cargo shipment heading for Australia at a logistics firm in Lagos.
Cocaine was disguised in face cream packages. He also revealed that the agency confiscated 338,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth over ₦1.19 billion from two containers.
On January 9 and 10, 2025, NDLEA officers, Customs, and other security agencies conducted joint examinations at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, and identified the unlawful consignments.
On January 9, a suspect, Habibu Ya’u, 23, was apprehended during a raid at Gadar Tamburawa on Zaria Road in Kano. NDLEA officers seized 45 blocks of cannabis weighing 24.2 kilos and 40,800 opioid pills, including tramadol.