Narcotic baroness, Toyin Monsurat Asabi, popularly known in Nigeria’s social circuit as Toyin Igbira, has died of ovarian cancer.
An acolyte of another baron, Oloruntoyin alias Ile Eru who was also jailed a few years ago, reportedly died on Saturday at a private hospital in Surulere, Lagos.
A toast of Fuji musicians, Igbira was a school dropout who later became a drug kingpin. The National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, first nabbed her in 1999 at the age of 36 after years of extensive undercover anti-narcotic operations.
She was arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos on a two-count charge of unlawfully dealing in 5kg of heroin and sentenced to two years in prison.
When she regained her freedom, Igbira went back to narcotic trafficking. Following extensive surveillance by NDLEA officers, the Kogi State indigene was re-arrested at the Lagos airport in 2002 as she was about boarding a plane to the United States of America.
In NDLEA cell, Igbira excreted 72 wraps of heroin weighing 675g. Her arrest connected the dots for NDLEA investigators as many drug couriers have named her as the source of their wares.
Five years after, in 2007, Igbira was declared wanted following the arrest of Mohammed Jamiu during the screening of passengers on a Virgin Nigeria flight from Lagos to London at the Lagos airport while attempting to export cocaine which he ingested.
Jamiu told interrogators that the consignment he ingested was given to him by Igbira who was then at large.
Igbira was reportedly diagnosed with ovarian cancer about 10 years ago. The search for cure took her to hospitals in Europe and America until she died this weekend.
Pix: Toyin Igbira
