Lagos Intensifies Security Sweep, Arrests 33 Suspected Offenders

The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit, popularly known as the Lagos Task Force, has arrested 33 suspected criminals during a coordinated enforcement operation across parts of Victoria Island, Lekki, and Obalende, recovering suspected hard drugs and dangerous weapons.

The agency said the operation, carried out in the early hours of Monday, forms part of its renewed efforts to tackle criminal activities, environmental violations, and other offences in line with the Lagos State Government’s THEMES Plus Agenda.

In a statement, the Director of Public Affairs of the Lagos State Task Force, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, said the operation targeted street urchins, suspected drug users and dealers, illegal commercial motorcyclists (Okada riders), street traders, ticket touts, and other individuals accused of disrupting public order.

The exercise covered Ikate Bus Stop, Marwa Bus Stop, Muri Okunola Park in Victoria Island, Obalende Underbridge, Law School Junction, and adjoining parts of the Lekki-Epe Expressway after intelligence reports linked the areas to suspected criminal activities.

Abdulraheem said 33 suspects were arrested during the raid, while officers recovered substances suspected to be Tramadol, Indian hemp, Colorado, marijuana, and cannabis, as well as weapons including scissors and cutlasses.

He added that the suspects have been arraigned before the appropriate courts under relevant provisions of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law, 2017, and the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law, 2018, where applicable.

Speaking after the operation, the Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force, CSP Adetayo Akerele, warned individuals involved in criminal activities to abandon such acts or leave the state.

He also directed officers to sustain intelligence-led enforcement operations across the state while intensifying the agency’s campaign against crime and illegal commercial motorcycle activities.

The Lagos Task Force reaffirmed its commitment to removing criminal elements from the state and maintaining law and order through sustained enforcement operations.