Cherubim and Seraphim Official Arrested Tries To Export Narcotics Worth N609 Million

A sixty year old man who is a resident minister of Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim, Agodo-Egbe, Ikotun branch, Lagos, has been arrested by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for allegedly attempting to export narcotics with a street value of N609 million to South Africa.

The suspect, identified as Prophet Michael Raji, 60, was arrested, following the interception of the drugs at the cargo section of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, during pre-shipment examination.

 

He told NDLEA officers that he received the drugs from a friend and had kept them in his church since October 2014.

The seized drugs, which weighed 174 kilogrammes, were reportedly concealed inside large bags of foodstuff.

A breakdown of the recovered drugs, according to the NDLEA Commander at Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar, was 91kg of Methamphetamine and 83kg of Ephedrine.

Preliminary investigation indicated that Prophet Raji was a suspected top member of a drug syndicate operating in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, because three international passports bearing the suspect’s photographs were recovered.

Umar said: “One of the passports bears the name Michael Raji, while the other two bear the name Kadigun Fatah Ola.

“It was equally discovered that the church premises also serves as a warehouse for narcotics. A Mercedes Benz SUV was also impounded during the operation.

“The drugs were brought to the airport for export to South Africa. Investigation eventually traced the movement of the drugs to his church premises where he was arrested.”