43 persons have been arrested in connection with some illegal activities in the Ikeja area of Lagos.
Head, Public Affairs Unit of the Lagos State Task Force, Adebayo Taofiq confirmed this in a statement on Sunday.
According to the statement, the arrest was made after operatives of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit (Taskforce) raided all streets within Central Business District including surroundings of the Afrika Shrine, Alausa, Ikeja, over the weekend.
Chairman of the Agency, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi was also quoted to have said that the enforcement operations became imperative following complaints from members of the public about the activities of miscreants constituting a nuisance, as well as illegal street traders around the Shrine.
“The night enforcement operation was carried out on all roads around Afrika Shrine where hard drugs like Tramadol, Codeine, Skunk, Weed, Illegal Mixed Liquor, Assorted Food and all sorts of consumable and non-consumable items are freely sold on the streets in defiance of security agencies and government authority,” he said.
According to the statement, one of the arrested persons, Tunde Babalola who was caught with a bag of substance suspected to be Indian hemp confirmed that he had been selling hard drugs for eight years, particularly around the Afrika Shrine.
He further explained that dealing in hard drugs has been a lucrative business because he realised an average profit of between N60,000 and N100,000 weekly from customers around the Obalende, Akala, Mushin, Bariga and Ikeja areas.
Another arrested trader who identified herself as Mrs. Abike Adeyemi was also said to have disclosed that she pays N1,900 every week to a representative of the Ikeja Local Government from the sales of ‘Skuchies’ and ‘Hot drinks’ around the ‘African Shrine’.
CSP Egbeyemi therefore, stated that the enforcement operations will be a continuous exercise in line with the vision of the present administration to rid the state of criminals.
“The Lagos State Government has vowed to sustain the security onslaught on all areas identified as criminal hideouts and hard drug outlets across the State, especially within the metropolis,” he said.
Also according to him, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Zubairu Muazu has directed that all those arrested should be immediately prosecuted.
