The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a cleric and his wife for their alleged involvement in a cross-border drug trafficking operation.

According to a statement by Femi Babafemi, the Agency’s spokesperson on Sunday, Pastor Afolabi Hodonu, 45, the spiritual leader in charge of the Celestial Church of Christ, Agonvi Sea Beach in the Sakpo area of Badagry, and his wife, Mrs. Success Hodonu, 35, were intercepted by NDLEA operatives on Thursday, April 2, 2026.

The couple was traveling in their Honda Pilot SUV through the Gbaji checkpoint, a known transit point near the Seme border when they were flagged down for a search. What was intended to be a routine check revealed a dark secret: 11kg of skunk (a potent strain of cannabis) meticulously hidden in secret compartments of the vehicle.

The arrest was not a random occurrence but the result of an intelligence-led investigation. On Monday, March 30, operatives at the same checkpoint had apprehended Sunday Samuel, a 35-year-old man posing as a security agent. Samuel was caught conveying 24.5kg of skunk from the Seme border to Lagos.

During interrogation, Samuel’s movements and connections provided the crucial intelligence that led operatives to wait for the cleric’s vehicle just three days later.

The arrest of the Hodonus is part of a massive, three-week high-stakes operation directed by the NDLEA. While the agency was busy dismantling a sophisticated cocaine syndicate that hid drugs in tins of palm kernel extract for shipment to the UK, they were also uncovering “internal” threats where traffickers used religious and social standing as a shield.

Reacting to the string of arrests, the Chairman/CEO of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), warned that no title religious or otherwise would serve as a cover for criminality.

“These successful operations are a testament to the Agency’s evolving intelligence capabilities and our unwavering commitment to choking the supply lines of drug cartels,” Marwa stated. “Whether they hide behind legitimate businesses, religious titles, or complex concealment methods, we will find them.”

The Hodonus remain in custody as the agency continues its investigation into the extent of the trafficking network operating along the Seme-Badagry corridor.