The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced that it has apprehended the leader of the Mushin drug cartel in Lagos, 57-year-old Alhaji Sulaiman Jimoh, also known by his alias Olowoidiogede and commonly referred to as Temo.
Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Publicity at NDLEA National Headquarters, reported that Temo was apprehended by agents in his territory following “initial resistance from him and his group of thugs.”
Babafemi stated that this arrest follows numerous years of projecting an image of being untouchable.
The spokesperson stated that over the past two years, the NDLEA has seized significant shipments of illegal drugs valued in the billions that belonged to Temo, yet he has largely evaded capture.
Babafemi mentioned that several run-ins with the drug lord and his armed gangs in the Mushin area led to gun battles..
The statement reads: “Some of the recent seizures of his shipments include: a 14, 524.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud, a strong strain of cannabis sativa, smuggled into Lagos from Ghana in two trucks and a J5 bus intercepted at Ojuelegba area of Lagos in the early hours of Sunday 28th January 2024; two truck-loads of the same substance weighing 8,852kg intercepted at Eleko beach, Lekki Lagos on 4th May 2023 and 252kg of Loud seized from his enclave in Mushin on Wednesday 26th July 2023.
“Indeed, in the last two encounters, his men engaged NDLEA operatives in gunfight.
“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 10am on Monday 22nd July 2024 when NDLEA’s surveillance teams on his trail tracked and pinned him down at Igbarere street, Mushin.
“A reinforcement of about 100 operatives was immediately mobilized to the area while he was attempting 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 however failed after which he was overpowered and whisked away from the chaotic scene while his men surrendered to the superior firepower of the anti-narcotic agents who also succeeded in recovering the Mercedes Benz SUV the suspect was found in.”
In response to Temo’s arrest, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised the officers and personnel of the Lagos State Command, Special Monitoring Task Force, and other units involved in the mission to apprehend Temo for their dedication, alertness, and professionalism. He encouraged them to increase pressure on all drug cartels, regardless of their location.
