By John Achi, JKNewsMedia Reporter
FRESH INTELLIGENCE operations have exposed a hidden laboratory used for producing “Colorado,” a synthetic strain of cannabis, inside a residential building at Ajao Estate, Isolo, Lagos.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) reported that the raid led to the recovery of large quantities of freshly cooked Colos, precursor chemicals, and the arrest of the 30-year-old owner, Stephen Kelechi Imoh.
According to the NDLEA, the operation followed months of intelligence gathering targeting possible production sites of synthetic cannabis in Lagos.
The agency noted that previous interceptions of freshly produced Colos in March and May 2025 signalled that the once-imported psychoactive substance was now being locally manufactured.
The agency confirmed that the raid on Thursday, 30th October 2025, yielded 16.2 kilograms of freshly cooked Colos, 1.7 kilograms of ADB-CHMNACA Cannabinol, 4.5 kilograms of Potassium Carbonate, and 91 litres of Dibromobutane.
These were recovered from the residential apartment converted into a drug production facility by Imoh.
In a separate operation on Saturday, 1st November 2025, NDLEA operatives stormed the Mushin enclave of 28-year-old drug dealer, Afeez Salisu, also known as Malu.
During the raid, 16 compressed blocks of Ghana Loud — another strain of cannabis — and designer sachets and bottles of Colorado weighing 16.4 kilograms were seized from the suspect.
The agency further reported the arrest of a music artist, 20-year-old Godspower George Osahenrumwen, who performs under the stage name “Steady Boy.”
He was apprehended on Thursday, 30th October 2025, while attempting to collect a large consignment of Loud concealed inside three cartons of bathtubs imported from New York, United States.
The consignment had arrived via a DHL flight at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, on Tuesday, 28th October.
NDLEA disclosed that the artist was arrested at Bougain Villa, Primewater Gardens 2, Freedom Way, Lekki, Lagos, after showing up to claim the 140 bags of Loud weighing 77.20 kilograms on behalf of a drug syndicate.
His manager, identified as Zion Osazee Omigie, also known as “Zee Money,” remains at large.
In Kaduna State, the agency said its operatives intercepted a consignment of 84,710 capsules of Tramadol along the Abuja–Jos highway on Sunday, 26th October.
The drugs were reportedly being transported from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Bauchi. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the receiver, 27-year-old Musa Abdulkarim, in Bauchi.
Two days later, at the Abuja–Kaduna highway tollgate, NDLEA operatives apprehended 47-year-old Hamza Musa with 32,946 bottles of Akuskura, a New Psychoactive Substance (NPS).
Similarly, 30-year-old Saidu Nafiu was arrested with 131.5 kilograms of skunk at Kamfanin Zangon Aya, Igabi Local Government Area, Kaduna.
Three suspects, 24-year-old Seun Olaniyi, 28-year-old Rauf Asogba, and 50-year-old Ayinla Adeniyi — were also intercepted at Abiola Way, Abeokuta, Ogun State, after NDLEA officers tracked their movement from Benin Republic.
The suspects were found with a total of 1,779 kilograms of skunk.
In Bauchi State, a 46-year-old suspect identified as Jamilu Mustapha, also known as “Last Card,” was arrested on Wednesday, 29th October, at Nasaru town in Ningi Local Government Area with 596.4 kilograms of skunk.
On the same day, operatives in Kwara State intercepted a truck marked KTG-791ZZ at Oko-Olowo, Ilorin, containing 532,600 pills of Tramadol and Exol-5. The suspects, Halilu Amiru, Rabiu Maikudi, and Ibrahim Mati — were taken into custody.
In Edo State, NDLEA reported that officers intercepted two Toyota Sienna buses along Okhokho–Isi community in Uhunmwode Local Government Area on Wednesday, 29th October.
Acting on credible intelligence, the operatives recovered a total of 1,455 kilograms of skunk from the vehicles.
The agency added that in Ondo State, a total of 2,829 kilograms of skunk linked to a 32-year-old female suspect, Mrs. Ige Olarewaju, were recovered from two locations at Ayede, Ogbese, on Tuesday, 28th October.
Another suspect, Samuel Adebayo, was arrested at Adegbola Junction, Akure, with 737 kilograms of the same substance.
In Lagos, NDLEA officers seized 76.5 litres of “Skuchies” — a cocktail of black currant, skunk, and opioids — from 50-year-old Ige Oluwale during a raid at Ibereko, Badagry, on Friday, 31st October.
Additionally, operatives in Taraba State arrested 28-year-old Musbahu Abdullahi and 25-year-old Saleiman Ahmed in Wukari on Thursday, 30th October, while transporting 30,370 pills of Tramadol and 177 grams of Methamphetamine from Onitsha to Yola, Adamawa State.
The NDLEA stated that its Commands and formations nationwide continued the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities. Activities in the past week included lectures at Aroje/Abaa Community High School in Ogbomoso, Oyo State; Amazing Flower Secondary School, Maya, Ikorodu, Lagos; Government Day Secondary School, Ilelah, Sokoto; Government Day Secondary School, Darina, Gwiwa Local Government Area, Jigawa; and Royal Star Academy, Hayin Gwarmai, Bebeji Local Government Area, Kano State, among others.
While commending officers and men of the MMIA, Lagos, Kaduna, Edo, Kwara, Ogun, Taraba, Ondo, Seme, and Bauchi Commands for their commitment and professionalism, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), reaffirmed the agency’s determination to dismantle all identified drug syndicates across Nigeria.
Marwa stated that the NDLEA would continue to deny traffickers the benefits of their illicit trade by ensuring that all traceable assets are forfeited to the Federal Government.
He emphasised that the agency’s operational and intelligence units remain focused on identifying, targeting, and dismantling the financial and logistical networks of drug cartels to weaken their criminal enterprises.
The NDLEA also assured the public that its nationwide crackdown would persist in alignment with the agency’s strategic objectives under the War Against Drug Abuse initiative, which aims to reduce the availability and abuse of narcotic substances in Nigerian communities.
