A prominent Lagos socialite and Nollywood filmmaker were among those arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency , NDLEA, operatives at the start of the New Year.

Both individuals are allegedly involved in major drug trafficking activities across Nigeria.

NDLEA operatives raided the Okota home of Aishat Elediye, a 61-year-old prominent Lagos socialite, on January 1, 2025.

Elediye’s arrest followed the interception of a white Izuzu truck carrying 44 jumbo sacks of imported cannabis, weighing a total of 1,540 kilograms, in Lagos.

The vehicle was driven by one of her employees, 41-year-old Abideen Adio, who was also arrested.

The raid on Elediye’s mansion was part of the operation, with the NDLEA emphasizing that she had been evading arrest for years while allegedly running a drug cartel based in Lagos’ Mushin area. Known in the drug underworld as “Iya Ruka,” Elediye was considered a key figure in a major narcotics network.

Despite her criminal activities, she had maintained a respected social facade, with a business importing fabrics and shoes from China.

In addition, she is recognized as the Iyalaje of Blessing Sisters, a prominent women’s society in Lagos.

Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s spokesperson, further disclosed that in a separate operation, operatives arrested Emeka Mbadiwe, a motivational speaker and US-trained Nollywood filmmaker, at a hotel in Lekki on December 27, 2024.

His arrest followed that of his associate, Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James, who had been sent to collect a shipment of 33 parcels of Loud, a potent cannabis strain, from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja.

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The drugs, weighing 17.3 kilograms, arrived from the United States on a Delta Airlines flight, concealed in wooden boxes.

In a separate operation in Ilorin, Kwara State, NDLEA operatives arrested two young dealers, Khadijat Abdulraheem, 24, a recent graduate, and Ayomide Morakinyo, 20, a University of Ilorin student.

They were caught on December 29, 2024, for producing and selling drug-laced cupcakes to local students.

The operatives seized 42 pieces of the drugged cupcakes from their apartment.

In another notable arrest, an ex-convict, Sodade Eniola, was apprehended again for his involvement in passport racketeering after being released from prison in June 2024.

Eniola had previously been convicted for drug trafficking and paid a N750,000 fine for his release.

However, he was found to be part of a syndicate smuggling passports hidden in shoe soles and food items.

Elsewhere, in Port Harcourt, a joint operation with Customs officers led to the interception of 316,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup on December 31, 2024.

Similarly, in Kano, over 149,090 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 were seized during a raid in Dala Local Government Area.

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