Officials
of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended the
resident pastor of the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim at
Agodo-Egbe, Ikotun Lagos, over unlawful attempt to export of 174 kilogrammes of
narcotic drugs to South Africa, the agency said on Monday.
NDLEA
said the suspect, Prophet Michael Raji was arrested following the interception
of the drug at the cargo section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport
(MMIA) during pre-shipment examination.
“Preliminary
investigation has indicated that the 60 year old suspect Michael Raji is a
suspected top member of a drug syndicate operating in Nigeria, Ghana and South
Africa,” NDLEA said.
The
pastor had three international passports bearing his photographs.
“One
of the passports bears the name Michael Raji while the other two bear the name
Kadigun Fatah Ola. It was equally discovered that the church premises where he
ministers also serves as a warehouse for narcotics,” NDLEA said.
The
seized drugs concealed inside large bags of foodstuff were found to contain
91kg of Methamphetamine and 83kg of Ephedrine with an estimated street value of
N609 million.
A Mercedes Benz Jeep was also impounded during the operation.
A Mercedes Benz Jeep was also impounded during the operation.
NDLEA
commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar described the suspect as a
smooth operator.
“I
can tell you that this suspect is a smooth operator but we have uncovered his
bag of tricks. The drugs were brought to the airport for export to South Africa
where it was detected. Investigation eventually traced the movement of the
drugs to his church premises where he was arrested,” Hamza stated.
NDLEA
quoted the suspect in his statement as saying that he collected the drugs from
a friend.
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