The Ondo State Command of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLEA), on Tuesday, said a notorious drug dealer, Ohimai Ayodele, who masterminded the killing of four agency officers last February had been arrested.
The state Commander of the NDLEA, Mr Haruna Gagara, who disclosed this while addressing newsmen at the command headquarters, Alagbaka, Akure, the state capital, said the suspect was arrested during intelligence-driven Operation Thunder Strike IV carried out by security agencies in the state.
According to him, the 51-year-old suspect was arrested at Uzebba, in Owan West Local Government, Edo State, after engaging the NDLEA officials in a gun duel, leaving six officials of the NDLEA officers injured during the shoot-out.
He said the men were able to overpower the drug baron and his gang after hours of gun battle to resist arrest.
He said Ayodele was arrested during the raid on Uzebba and Ihkin villages in the same local government following intelligence gathering by the command, saying the team moved further into the Ivbiodeohen forest where about five warehouses filled with Cannabis Sativa were discovered.
Haruna said, “Uzebba and Ihkin, two communities in Owan West Local Government, Edo State, bordering Ondo State which are notorious for the cultivation of Cannabis Sativa were the first place to be visited by the team.
“One Ohimai Ayodele, ‘M’ 51-year-old titleholder in Uzebba, a notable cannabis merchant suspected to be the mastermind of the killing of NDLEA personnel earlier in the year was apprehended during the operation.
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