The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Sulaiman Jimoh, popularly known as Temo, the 57-year-old alleged leader of a drug cartel in Lagos.
Mr. Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, made the announcement on Wednesday in Abuja.
Babafemi revealed that the arrest came after years of evasion and resistance from Temo and his gang of hoodlums.
“After many years of wearing the toga of invincibility, the overall head of the Mushin, Lagos drug cartel, popularly known as Temo, has been arrested by operatives of the NDLEA,” he said.
He detailed that in the past two years, the NDLEA had intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs worth billions of naira owned by Temo.
“He has remained largely evasive while a few encounters with him and his armed gangs in his Mushin enclave had resulted in gunfights,” Babafemi added.
Some of the significant seizures included a 14,524.8-kilogram consignment of Ghana Loud, a potent strain of cannabis sativa, smuggled into Lagos from Ghana in two trucks and a J5 bus, intercepted in the Ojuelegba area of Lagos on January 28. Another two truckloads of the same substance, weighing 8,852 kilograms, were intercepted at Eleko Beach, Lekki, Lagos, on May 4, 2023, and 252 kilograms of Loud were seized from Temo’s Mushin enclave on July 26, 2023.
Babafemi recounted that NDLEA operatives engaged in gunfights during the last two encounters with Temo’s gang.
“The drug kingpin was very notorious for always being on the move to evade arrest, but with persistence and determination of the agency aided by modern tools and intelligence, the concerted effort to get him paid off at 10 am on Monday, July 22, when NDLEA’s surveillance teams on his trail tracked and pinned him down at Igbarere Street, Mushin,” he said.
A reinforcement of about 50 operatives was immediately mobilized to the area as Temo attempted to escape in a Mercedes Benz SUV GLE 350 marked 01G-300G. His attempt to escape by mobilizing hoodlums to engage and distract the operatives failed, leading to his capture.
Babafemi noted, “His attempt to escape by mobilizing hoodlums to engage and distract the operatives, however, failed after which he was overpowered and whisked away from the chaotic scene while his men surrendered.”
Reacting to the arrest, NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the Lagos State Command Special Monitoring Task Force and other formations for their professionalism.
Marwa urged the officers to continue their efforts to arrest drug cartels nationwide and curb the use of illicit drugs in the country.
“I urge officers to intensify the heat on all drug cartels wherever they are located. I’m particularly delighted because the arrest was eventually effected in his enclave without any casualty despite the attack on our men. 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’ll get them because we’re just steps away from their doorsteps,” Marwa stated.