The manhunt for Rigima paid off on Monday when operatives tracked her to her hideout in Iware Village in Ardo Kola Local Government Area of Taraba.
A notorious queen of a drug cartel supplying psychoactive substances to traffickers in Taraba State, Lami Mai Rigima, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency months after being on their wanted list, a statement by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA's Director of Media and Advocacy, said.
The 40-year-old came under the anti-narcotics agency’s searchlight when some traffickers arrested in the state in 2021 and early this year identified her as their supplier.
The manhunt for Rigima paid off on Monday when operatives tracked her to her hideout in Iware Village in Ardo Kola Local Government Area of Taraba.
The search for the woman began in October 2021 following the arrest, prosecution and conviction of a drug dealer, Abdullahi Madaki, 50.
After serving his jail sentence, Madaki returned to the illicit trade with Rigima still his supplier.
He was, however, rearrested on February 13, 2022, while another trafficker, Jamilu Hassan, 20, who is also a member of Rigima’s supply chain, was nabbed on February 24.
In Adamawa, operatives arrested a cross-border drug trafficker, Emeka Okiru, 40, with 32,700 tablets of Tramadol 225mg under the brand name Royal and Tramaking.
He was arrested at Garden City, Mubi, Mubi North Local Government Area on April 5 while preparing to supply his customers, who came from the Republic of Cameroon.
The drugs were found concealed in cartons of paintbrushes.
In Oyo State, different quantities of Cocaine, Amphetamine and Cannabis were recovered from four suspects including Adetola Tosin; Akeem Kazeem; Korede Ahmed, and Abdulgafar Nureni, who were arrested in four local government areas when operatives raided parts of the state on April 5.
At least, 172 kilogrammes of Cannabis were recovered from two suspects including Zaidu Mohammed Kamba and Hussaini Dauda in the Kamba area of Kebbi State on April 4 by NDLEA operatives.
While commending the officers and men of the Taraba, Adamawa, Kebbi and Oyo states commands of the agency for their efforts, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), charged them and their compatriots in other commands across the country to sustain the tempo of offensive action against the drug cartels in every part of Nigeria.