Lagos Task Force Arrests 33 Suspected Criminals in Major Raid

(suspected drug peddlers. Photo by Tribune Online)

Thirty-three suspected dr*g peddlers and other criminal elements were arrested on Monday by the police in Lagos State.

The suspects were apprehended by operatives of the Lagos State Task Force on the Environment and Other Related Offences during raids carried out at Ikate Bus Stop, Marwa Bus Stop, Muri Okunola Park in Victoria Island, Obalende Underbridge, Law School Junction, and other adjoining locations along the Lekki-Epe Expressway.

Spokesperson for the agency, Abdulraheem Gbadeyan, confirmed the arrests in a statement on Monday, explaining that the operation was carried out in line with the taskforce’s statutory mandate and the Lagos State Government’s THEMES Plus Agenda, particularly its zero-tolerance approach to environmental degradation, drug abuse and criminality.

According to him, the early morning operation, conducted on Monday, July 27, targeted street urchins, miscreants, suspected drug addicts and peddlers, illegal commercial motorcyclists (Okada riders), street traders, illegal ticket touts, and other criminal elements deemed a threat to public safety and environmental order.

He said the areas covered during the exercise were locations where the presence of suspected criminal elements had become noticeable, listing Ikate Bus Stop, Marwa Bus Stop, Muri Okunola Park in Victoria Island, Obalende Underbridge, Law School Junction, and other adjoining spots along the Lekki-Epe Expressway.

Gbadeyan added that a total of 33 suspects were arrested by the end of the operation, with several exhibits recovered, including substances suspected to be Tram@dol, Indian hemp, Colorado and marijuana/c@nnabis, as well as dangerous weapons such as scissors and cutlasses.