Former Beauty Queen-turned Drug Baron Surrenders Self To NDLEA

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on Sunday, September 1, 2024, announced the  interception and seizure of hard drugs worth over N17 billion.

This is just as a wanted drug pin, and former Beauty Queen voluntarily turned herself in to the Drug Agency.

A statement issued by its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the hard substances were seized from major operations in Rivers state and Lagos.

The seizures were said to have been made following intelligence processed by the Agency on the movement of the shipments from their ports of origin in India.

The  availability of the actionable intelligence, Babafemi stated, led to the insistence of a 100 percent joint inspection by a combined team of NDLEA, Nigeria Customs, NAFDAC and other Security operatives.

“A breakdown of the seizures shows that 350 ,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup were recovered from two containers at Tin Van Port in Lagos on Thursday, August 29 and Friday August 30 2024.

“Each of the the two containers had 175 ,000 bottles of the opioid.

“At the Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, NDLEA operatives equally intercepted a total of 447 cartons of Tramadol 225mg ,containing Twenty Nine Million, Eight Hundred and Forty Thousand ( 29,840,000) pills of the opioid as well as 380,000 bottles of codeine syrup from three containers on Thursday August 29 2024.

“The Tramadol shipments came under different brand names such as Royal Tapetadol ,Carisoprodol 225mg and Royal Tramadol Hydrochloride 225mg ”

The wanted ex-beauty queen, Aderinoye Queen Christmas, otherwise known as Queen Oluwadamilola Aderinoye, was in January, this year, declared wanted by the drugs control agency.

According to the statement, she escaped from her residence in the Lekki area of Lagos when Operatives of the Agency came calling on January 24 .

The NDLEA said the ex- Commonwealth Nigeria Culture Queen deals on illicit substances .

“The suspect was Miss Commonwealth Nigeria Culture 2015/2016 and the founder of Queen Christmas Foundation.

“Recovered from her home during the search, witnessed by the Estate officials include 606 grams of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, an electronic weighing scale, large quantities of drugs packing plastics, a black RAV 4 SUV marked Lagos KSF 872 GO, and her picture frame among others.

“The Suspect who claimed she has been hiding in Akure, Ondo State since January when she escaped arrest in Lekki  Lagos, however surrendered to the Agency on Wednesday August 28 ” the statement further noted.