Wanted Taraba Drug Cartel Queen Nabbed by NDLEA

Michael Olugbode

A wanted drug supplier in Taraba State, Lami Mai Rigima has been finally nabbed by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLEA).

According to the spokesman of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, Mai Rigima, who is “a notorious queen of drug cartel supplying psychoactive substances to traffickers in Taraba state,” was on the anti-narcotics agency’s wanted list for months.

Babafemi said: “The 40-year-old queen of the drug world came under the anti-narcotics agency’s searchlight when a number of traffickers arrested in the state in 2021 and early this year fingered her as their supplier.”

He said the manhunt for Lami paid off on Monday when operatives tracked her to her hideout in Iware village in Ardo Kola Local Government Area of Taraba, noting that the search for her began in October 2021 following the arrest, prosecution and conviction of a drug dealer, Abdullahi Madaki, 50.

He added that after serving his brief jail sentence, Madaki returned to the illicit trade with Lami still as his supplier. He was, however, rearrested on 13th February 2022 while another trafficker, Jamilu Hassan, 20, who is also a member of Lami’s supply chain, was nabbed on 24th February.

Babafemi also said in Adamawa, operatives arrested a cross border drug trafficker, Emeka Okiru, 40, with 32,700 tablets of Tramadol 225mg under the brand name: Royal and Tramaking.

According to him, Okiru was arrested at Garden city, Mubi, Mubi North Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday while preparing to supply his customers who came from Republic of Cameroon, with the drugs found concealed in cartons of paintbrush.

In Oyo state, Babafemi said different quantities of cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis were recovered from four suspects: Adetola Tosin; Akeem Kazeem; Korede Ahmed, and Abdulgafar Nureni who were arrested in Omi-Adio, Ido local government area; Oje area of Ibadan North local government area; Iwo Road, Ibadan North East local government area, and Sabo, Mokola, Ibadan North West local government area when operatives raided parts of the state on Tuesday.

The NDLEA spokesman further revealed that at least 172 kilogrammes of cannabis was recovered from two suspects: Zaidu Mohammed and Hussaini Dauda in Kamba area of Kebbi state on Monday 4th April by operatives.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) while commending the officers and men of the Taraba, Adamawa, Kebbi and Oyo state Commands of the agency for their efforts, however charged them and their compatriots in other commands across the country to sustain the tempo of offensive action against the drug cartels in every part of Nigeria.