The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of at least 10 suspects and the seizure of significant quantities of illicit drugs during a series of operations across the country.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA detailed several high-profile arrests and busts conducted in multiple states including Kano, Bayelsa, Lagos, Anambra, Kaduna, Osun, Kebbi, and Edo.
One of the most notable arrests involved a 22-year-old man, Muhammad Mohammed, in Kano State, accused of supplying illegal drugs to bandits. He was apprehended along the Bichi-Kano Road with 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection taped to his thighs and groin area using Sellotape. He was reportedly en route to Katsina at the time of his arrest on Sunday, April 13.
That same day, another suspect, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, 43, was arrested in the Research Rimin Kebe area of Nasarawa, Kano, in possession of 68 blocks of skunk (a potent strain of cannabis), weighing 30kg.
In Bayelsa State, NDLEA officers stormed a house on Major General Isaiah Allison Street, Opolo, Yenagoa, recovering 557.2kg of skunk, 5.6kg of methamphetamine, and 29.8 grammes of heroin. Four suspects were apprehended during the raid:
- Sarimiye Suwa Kurtis, 46
- Roland Prosper, 34
- Sarimiye Tare Paul, 45
- Fidelis Ugbesla, 46
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a delivery van carrying approximately 1,100kg of skunk, leading to the arrest of the vehicle’s driver.
Meanwhile, in Kaduna, a suspect identified as Ike Ani was arrested at a known hideout with 31,950 pills of Tramadol 225mg and Diazepam.
In Kebbi State, three men—Abubakar Ibrahim (50), Mustapha Aliyu (32), and Bashar Lawali (28)—were arrested after agents uncovered 97kg of skunk hidden in charcoal sacks.
In Anambra, Okafor Marcel, 48, was apprehended in Abatete with 11.5kg of skunk, while in Osun State, a 27-year-old woman, Ajala Mercy, was arrested on April 15 with 43 litres of ‘skushi’—a cocktail made from blackcurrant, cannabis, and opioids—in her room at Dada Estate, Halleluyah, Osogbo.
The agency also uncovered and destroyed two cannabis farms in Egbeta Forest, located in Ovia North East LGA of Edo State. The farms contained a combined 3,717.8kg of cannabis plants spread across 1.49 hectares of land. An additional 136.5kg of processed cannabis was seized during the operation.
At the Tincan seaport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested Basorun Usman Kayode, 40, who had been on the run since 2023. He is linked to the attempted smuggling of 107kg of “Loud” cannabis, imported from Canada.
Another suspect, Dauda Yakubu, who is believed to distribute illegal substances within the port community, was also arrested on Monday, April 14.
On April 15, NDLEA agents at a Lagos courier company intercepted 500 grammes of cocaine concealed in 20 religious books headed for Saudi Arabia. According to Babafemi, the discovery was made during a routine screening of outbound shipments.
That same day, another courier facility in Lagos was flagged when officers found 2.8kg of Loud, a high-potency cannabis strain, hidden in a package arriving from the United States.
These operations, Babafemi noted, highlight the NDLEA’s continued resolve to dismantle drug trafficking networks operating within and outside Nigeria.
