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.
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.
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