Ten days after he was declared wanted, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a fleeing Lagos socialite and owner of Adekaz Hotels, Ademola Kazeem, over alleged trafficking of illicit drugs as well as money laundering.

The agency had on Tuesday, November 1, declared the suspect wanted following his failure to honour its invitations.

The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, said the wanted drug kingpin was uncovered as the sponsor of some traffickers arrested by the anti-narcotic agency in their recent attempt to export cocaine to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and other destinations outside Nigeria.

He said, “The search for him, however, paid off on Thursday, November 10, when he was successfully taken into custody where he is currently being interviewed.

“His lid was blown open after the arrest of one of his mules, a Lagos BRT driver, Bolujoko Babalola, on June 27 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, when he named Ademola Kazeem as the owner of the 900 grams of cocaine he ingested.

“Following Adekaz’s failure to honour invitations sent to him, the agency approached a Federal High Court in Lagos with three prayers: to attach and seal his identified properties in choice areas of Lagos Island and Ibadan; declare him wanted and block his bank account with a cash balance of N217 million, all of which were granted.”

Babafemi stated that in a related development, operatives also arrested a businesswoman, Okefun Chisom, over her links with two Pakistanis: Asif Muhammed, 45, and Hussain Naveed, 57, arrested at the Lagos airport with 8kg of cocaine concealed in a sound system while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Lahole, Pakistan, via Doha, on Saturday, November 5.

He added, “An automobile parts dealer, Omeje Oliver, who was arrested on Monday, October 31, in Enugu, where he fled to after abandoning his business at Aspanda, Trade Fair Complex, Lagos, since April 16, in connection with the seizure of 600g of heroin concealed inside the soles of ladies’ footwear going to Liberia, has been linked to another drug seizure.

“A further look at the agency’s database reveals that Omeje was also involved in a case of 1.580kg Methamphetamine that was seized from one Victor Nwobodo, who was arrested at the MMIA during his aborted trip to Jakarta, Indonesia, on February 6, 2018. Charges have been filed against the suspect at the Federal High Court, Lagos, in respect of the old seizure in addition to that of the recent one.”