The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), said yesterday that it has busted a major cocaine warehouse in a secluded estate in Ikorodu area of Lagos State where 1.8tons (1,855kg) of the illicit drug worth $278,250,000 were seized.

NDLEA’s spokesman Femi Babafemi said in a statement yesterday that the cocaine seizure appeared to be the Agency’s biggest.

He said four suspected drug barons including a Jamaican and the warehouse manager have been arrested in the well-coordinated and intelligence-led operation that lasted two days across different locations in Lagos state.

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The statement reads, “Kingpins of the cocaine cartel in custody include: Messrs Soji Jibril, 69; Emmanuel Chukwu, 65; Wasiu Akinade, 53; Sunday Oguntelure, 53, and Kelvin Smith, 42, a Jamaican. They are all members of an international drug syndicate that the Agency has been trailing since 2018.

The warehouse was raided on Sunday “while the barons were picked from hotels and their hideouts in Lagos between Sunday night and Monday, Babafemi said.

President Muhammadu Buhari hailed the seizure and applauded Director-General of the Agency Brig.- Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) for the success of the operation, a presidential aide said.