Police uncover drug den in Lagos after hoodlums clash in market area

The detectives were said to have combed the market following the clashes between the youth and hoodlums in the market.

During the combing, the officers stumbled upon a hidden drug den that had been operating in plain sight.

Before the police’s intervention, it was gathered that the hoodlums residing in the shanties beside the market wielded a series of dangerous weapons during the clash, inflicting injuries on each other.

Some shops were also set on fire while goods belonging to traders were destroyed in the process.

A fire service truck that also drove into the market was also forced to reverse after being pelted with stones.

An eyewitness, Kudirat Balogun said the hoodlums and some boys were engaged in betting activities when an argument broke out among them over the bet money.

Balogun said, “They are used to betting and the one they played yesterday caused an argument. One of them said he was not paid the full amount of the game he won. So, he went ahead to mobilise his colleagues and that was how the fight broke out. They also started to destroy the people’s shops in the process.”

Another trader who gave his name as Taofiq said the fight lasted through the night.

He said, “The hoodlums, in retaliation, waited till evening and started to set some parts of the fire on the market. That was how the two factions started to destroy each other’s goods.” 

It was gathered that the goods destroyed ran into millions of naira.

Some of the hoodlums were also said to have looted shops belonging to some traders during the crisis.

The traders whose shops were affected were seen counting their losses.

One of the affected traders said her goods were not spared in the clash, “I sell tomatoes and onions and other condiments. When I heard what happened this morning, I quickly rushed down only to discover that my goods had been affected.”

Another trader was also seen lamenting over the newly bought bags of corn destroyed during the clash.