The FBI has informed a federal court in the United States that a former Chicago gangster with ties to President Bola Tinubu has died.
The FBI stated this on Wednesday as part of its latest update in an ongoing Freedom of Information case before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., according to the Peoples Gazette.
“In light of receiving information that appears to confirm Mr Edwards’ death, DEA has begun its search for responsive records pertaining to him,” the U.S. authorities said in a court filing sighted by Peoples Gazette.
Officials did not say when or how Mr Edwards died, according to the report.
On September 15, 2008, SaharaReporters stated that information had arisen indicating that Tinubu, a former Lagos governor, may have been implicated in a white heroin trafficking network managed by one Adegboyega Mueez Akande that operated in Chicago and parts of Indiana between 1988 and 1993.
Mr. Edwards, who was arrested for attempting to murder a federal agent when the agent was executing a search warrant on him, was identified as the source of the white heroine.
According to the Verified Complaint for Forfeiture in Case No. 93 C 4483 obtained by SaharaReporters, which was filed on July 26, 1993 before Hon. Judge Nordberg of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the United States Government urged the Court to order the forfeiture of funds in accounts Nos. 263226700 held by First Heritage Bank in the name of Bola Tinubu, funds in accounts 39483134, 39483396, 46502795
Tinubu, on the other hand, averred in Court that the assets belonged to himself, his wife, K.O. Tinubu, and his surrogate mother, Alhaja Mogaji (now deceased), and that they had exclusive right, title, and interest in the funds.
In an affidavit sworn to by Kevin Moss, a Special Agent with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, criminal investigation division, in support of the verified complaint for forfeiture of Tinubu’s funds held in various bank accounts, the agent detailed how he came to the conclusion that the funds were proceeds of a narcotics transaction in violation of U.S. law.
Mr. Moss claimed that the government became involved in the investigation of a white heroin trafficking network operating in Chicago, Illinois and Hammond, Indiana, prior to and during 1988. The inquiry revealed that a man named Lee Andrew Edwards was a source of white heroin.
Government sources revealed details on Lee Andrew Edwards, including the identity of a phone number that was activated in an electronic pager. According to him, the pager was to be summoned to make an order for white heroin.
According to Mr. Moss, the pager was subscribed to by one Adegboyega Mueez Akande, who lived in Chicago at the time.
Mr. Moss further claimed that in February 1988, an individual named Abiodun Agbele arrived in the United States from Nigeria, and that during a federal probe, Agbele revealed that Akande was his uncle, who furnished him with an apartment in Hammond, Indiana.
According to Agbele, Mr. Akande returned to Nigeria in 1990; however, before he went, he asked Agbele to serve as a source of white heroin for Mr. Lee Andrew Edwards, which Agbele did on multiple occasions.
Following a tip, Agbele sold one ounce of white heroin to an undercover law enforcement agent for $7,000 on November 28, 1990, and was arrested. Following his detention, Agbele promised to help with law enforcement officers in regards to Akande’s white heroin distribution and network.
According to Agbele, Akande oversaw the operation of white heroin from Nigeria with the help of other individuals in Nigeria and the United States.
According to the affidavit, another person who worked with Akande was identified as Bola Tinubu, who eventually became the governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and is currently the President of Nigeria.
(Post Credit: Peoples Gazette, Sahara Reporters)