The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Lagos-based pastor, Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele, also known as Abbas Ajakaiye, for allegedly coordinating large-scale drug shipments from Ghana to Nigeria.

Olasele, who is the founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, was apprehended on Sunday, August 3 at his church located along Ogombo Road in the Okun Ajah area of Lekki, Lagos.

According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, operatives laid in wait throughout the day and arrested the suspect as he exited the church after the evening service.

“After months of fleeing abroad to evade arrest, the Founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church… has been arrested for masterminding multiple shipments of illicit drugs into Nigeria,” Babafemi stated.

The pastor allegedly fled to Ghana in June to avoid capture after NDLEA operatives linked him to two major drug seizures: 200kg of cannabis (“Ghana Loud”) seized at Okun Ajah Beach on June 4 and 700kg of the same substance recovered from a delivery van on July 6.

Upon his arrest, Olasele reportedly admitted smuggling the consignments through the waterways from Ghana, confirming he went into hiding after narrowly escaping arrest twice.