Shocking Lekki raid: Nollywood filmmaker Mbadiwe nabbed in drug cartel crackdown
Mbadiwe and his accomplice
Published By: Kazeem Ugbodaga
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
US-trained Hollywood and Nollywood filmmaker, Emeka Emmanuel Mbadiwe, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for drugs.
He was arrested on Friday, 27th December 2024.
Mbadiwe was apprehended in his Lekki hotel suite, accused of masterminding the shipment of 33 parcels of Loud—a potent strain of cannabis weighing 17.30 kilogrammes.
According to NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday, the contraband, cleverly concealed in wooden boxes, had arrived from the United States at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Christmas Eve.
He said earlier that day, Mbadiwe’s accomplice, Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James, was cornered at a warehouse in Ikeja’s Ajao Estate, where he was sent to retrieve the illicit haul.
Meanwhile, in Ilorin, Kwara State, NDLEA operatives uncovered a shocking trend of drug-laced edibles.
On Sunday, 29th December 2024, they arrested Khadijat Abdulraheem, a 24-year-old fresh graduate, and Ayomide Morakinyo, a 20-year-old University of Ilorin student.
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Babafemi said the duo had been baking and selling drug-infused cupcakes to unsuspecting students. A raid on their apartment revealed 42 pieces of the dangerous confectionery, sparking outrage over the growing menace of youth involvement in drug crimes.
Infamy followed Sodade Sunday Eniola, an ex-convict previously jailed for drug trafficking.
Despite paying a fine to evade a full prison term, Eniola resurfaced in December 2024 as the ringleader of a passport racketeering syndicate.
NDLEA operatives intercepted 52 passports concealed in shoe soles and food shipments bound for Canada, Russia, and other countries. The bust led to the arrest of Eniola and three accomplices, exposing an international fraud network.
In Rivers State, NDLEA officers, alongside customs and security personnel, uncovered a staggering 316,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex on New Year’s Eve. Acting on credible intelligence, the joint operation prevented the distribution of this dangerous opioid in Nigeria’s streets.
The fight against drug abuse extended to Kano, where operatives stormed the Mafarki, Dan Dishe area of Dala Local Government on 31st December. The operation netted 149,090 pills of Tramadol and Exol-5 from a notorious dealer, Ismail Muhammad, aged 45.
Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), hailed the agency’s officers for their operational excellence.
“Their commitment to reducing both the supply and demand for drugs is the driving force behind our success,” Marwa said, vowing to sustain the momentum in the fight against drug abuse.
