Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have secured the arrest of a wanted drug baron, identified as Alhaji Suleiman Ganiu Aremu, popularly known as Barryshine, News About Nigeria reports.
The agency disclosed this in a statement, stating that the suspect has been under its radar for the past two years.
It noted that Suleiman, the Managing Director/CEO of Barryshine Suleiman Nigeria Ltd., came under the agency’s watchlist over his alleged role in four foiled attempts to export cocaine to Saudi Arabia and Qatar through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, in Lagos, between 2022 and 2024.
According to the agency, a financial investigation conducted linked the baron Suleiman to a suspect who was arrested, and two of his associates who recruit traffickers for him: Oluwafemi Akande Abidoye and Olanrewaju Abdullahi Ramon, both currently at large.
This led the agency to block the bank accounts linked to members of the cartel, after which Suleiman was eventually taken into custody on August 26, 2024, for further investigation.
Suleiman, however, claimed he is into property development and hotel management while he lives in Lagos and Paris, France.
He also stated that he runs another business that deals in clothes with his wife at Balogun Market, Lagos Island, adding that his regular visits to Saudi Arabia were to perform lesser hajj.
According to him, he holds the traditional title of Akeweje of Yaba (Youth Leader of Yaba Land).
Already, some properties traced to Suleiman include two houses at 63 and 72 Queens Street, Ebute-Meta, and his Barryshine hotel at 95 Freeman Street, Yaba, Lagos.
