By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Reporter
PAGES OF religious books hid parcels of cocaine bound for Saudi Arabia, uncovered by NDLEA operatives during a sweep of export cargo at a Lagos courier facility.
The 500-gram consignment, split into 20 parcels, was discovered on 15 April 2025, exposing a bold trafficking attempt and triggering a string of arrests and seizures across the country.
The discovery marked the beginning of a sweeping national operation by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), which dismantled drug rings, raided secret warehouses, and uncovered cannabis farms across multiple states.
The cocaine consignment—20 parcels weighing 500 grams—was uncovered on 15 April 2025 by operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), while scanning export shipments. Officers found the drugs meticulously buried within 20 sets of books intended for international delivery.
That same day, NDLEA agents at another Lagos courier firm intercepted a separate parcel—2.8 kilograms of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, concealed inside a carton from the United States.
Bandits’ drug courier caught with drugs taped to private parts
Along the Bichi–Kano road, 22-year-old Muhammad Mohammed, identified as a supplier to armed bandits, was caught transporting 277 ampoules of pentazocine, a restricted opioid. The ampoules were taped to his thighs and private parts using Sellotape. He was intercepted on 13 April en route to Katsina.
That same day, another suspect, 43-year-old Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, was arrested in Kano’s Research Rimin Kebe area with 68 blocks of skunk weighing 30kg.
Warehouse raid in Bayelsa uncovers heroin, meth, cannabis
A house in Opolo, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, was stormed by NDLEA operatives on 16 April, uncovering a stash of 557.2kg skunk, 5.6kg methamphetamine, and 29.8g heroin. Four suspects were arrested during the operation: Sarimiye Suwa Kurtis (46), Roland Prosper (34), Sarimiye Tare Paul (45), and Fidelis Ugbesla (46).
Lagos van bust, Zaria pill seizure, and cannabis in charcoal.
A delivery van carrying 1,100kg of skunk was seized in Surulere, Lagos, on 17 April. The driver, Ismail Abdullahi, was taken into custody.
In Zaria, Kaduna state, a raid on 30-year-old suspect Ike Ani’s hideout yielded 31,950 pills of tramadol (225mg) and diazepam. That operation took place on 18 April.
Another bust occurred along Bagudo Road in Kebbi, where a vehicle carrying bags of charcoal from Benin Republic was found to be hiding 97kg of skunk. Three suspects—Abubakar Ibrahim (50), Mustapha Aliyu (32), and Bashar Lawali (28)—were arrested.
Further arrests in Anambra and Osun, farms destroyed in Edo
NDLEA officers arrested 48-year-old Okafor Marcel in Abatete, Anambra state, with 11.5kg of skunk. In Osogbo, Osun state, a 27-year-old woman, Ajala Mercy, was caught with 43 litres of “skushi”—a psychoactive cocktail of cannabis, blackcurrant, and opioids—at her residence in Dada estate.
Two cannabis farms covering 1.487 hectares were raided in Egbeta forest, Ovia North-East, Edo state. Operatives destroyed 3,717.8625kg of cannabis plants and recovered an additional 136.5kg of processed cannabis.
Old Tincan seaport case cracked, community sensitisation continues.
Two arrests linked to earlier cases were made at Lagos’ Tincan seaport. Basorun Usman Kayode (40), wanted since 2023 for a 107kg Loud importation from Canada, was finally apprehended.
Another suspect, Dauda Yakubu, who allegedly distributes drugs within the seaport area, was also arrested on 14 April.
The agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy outreach continued with sensitisation lectures delivered to students, traders, and transport workers in Lagos, Ekiti, Niger, Osun, Cross River, and Anambra.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the coordinated work of operatives from the DOGI, Kano, Lagos, Kaduna, Kebbi, Osun, Zone 13, Edo, and Tincan Commands.
He highlighted the balance being maintained between supply disruption and demand reduction nationwide.
