Five drug barons bag 21 years jail term for cocaine, opioid trafficking

Five members of international drug cartels involved in trafficking cocaine and opioids to Gabon and Australia have been sentenced to a total of 21 years imprisonment following successful prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The convicts, identified as Olasupo Michael Oladimeji, Muaezee Ademola Ogunbiyi, Sola Adegoke, Obunike Joseph Obichukwu, and Uzorchukwu Godspower Chukwurah, were found guilty of various drug trafficking offences involving 68.9 kilograms of cocaine and tramadol seized at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

According to NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, operatives arrested Oladimeji, Ogunbiyi, and Adegoke — leaders of one of the international organised criminal groups — following the interception of 17.9 kilograms of cocaine concealed in textile materials and local charms being exported to Sydney, Australia on August 26, 2025.

Further investigation led to the recovery of 20.5 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, from Ogunbiyi’s Lekki residence, and the seizure of a Range Rover SUV (RBC 459 EJ) from Adegoke’s home in Ikeja GRA.

The trio were arraigned before Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on October 30, 2025, on a five-count charge numbered FHC/L/925C/2025. They pleaded guilty to all charges.

Delivering judgment on October 31, Justice Kakaki sentenced each of them to five years imprisonment without an option of fine, amounting to a total of 15 years for the three convicts. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the Range Rover SUV and a Toyota Venza recovered during investigation to the Federal Government.

In a related development, NDLEA operatives arrested Obunike Joseph Obichukwu and Uzorchukwu Godspower Chukwurah, leaders of another trafficking network, following the interception of 2.6 kilograms of cocaine and 27.9 kilograms of tramadol concealed in motor spare parts bound for Gabon on July 19, 2025.

Both suspects were arraigned before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on November 4, 2025, in case number FHC/L/980C. After pleading guilty, they were each sentenced to three years imprisonment or an option of a ₦2 million fine.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa also ordered the forfeiture of ₦4 million, which Obunike had attempted to use to bribe NDLEA officers, to the Federal Government.

The NDLEA reaffirmed its commitment to dismantling transnational drug syndicates and ensuring that convicted traffickers face the full weight of the law.

“These convictions demonstrate our resolve to cut off the supply chains of illicit drugs and bring to justice those behind them,” Babafemi said in the statement.