Olukoya Ayodele, 26, told the operatives of the Lagos Rapid Response Squad (RRS) that he has been in the business since 2016.

His colleague, Victor Godwin, 30, said factory workers are their major customers.

The duo, in a statement by RRS, were arrested in Alausa, Ikeja, following an intelligence gathering by the operatives’ Decoy mandated to uncover illicit drugs being distributed in the area.

Ayodele, an acclaimed graduate of Information Management and a notorious member of the Black Axe Confraternity (Aye) was arrested with charms.

RRS said Ayodele claimed using them for protection from rival cult members back then in his days as a student.

He was quoted as saying: “I armed myself with all these charms to protect myself from getting killed by other rival cult groups. I got the ‘account’ of charm making from my father who is a herbalist. It makes it easy for me to prepare various charms for myself and friends.

“I came to Lagos after I graduated in 2015 in search for greener pastures to come and work as a factory worker but the work was too stressful for me. I later began to work as a motor boy in the same area and added drug peddling to it to augment the low income from the motor boy hustle.

“I make over N3.6m annually from the sale of hard drugs and have been in the business for three years now. The charms also helped me to transact my business and prevented me from getting caught by security operatives as the charm shielded me from various arrests that had been carried out in the area.”

Victor, a boutique owner in the area, claimed that he used the proceeds from the drugs to supplement his income from the boutique business.

He added that the proceeds assisted him to pay his rents and his preparation for marriage.

Commissioner of Police Muazu Subaru enjoined youths to be creative and energetic, and not to get themselves involved in illegal ventures.

Subaru urged them to stay away from the sale and use of hard drugs

The suspects, The Nation learnt, have been transferred to the narcotics section of the Command for further investigation .

The Nation