…destroys 77,000kg skunk in Cross River, Edo forests; recovers 4,000kg in Nasarawa
By Nkechi Eze
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has made a series of major breakthroughs in its ongoing war against illicit drug trafficking across Nigeria, seizing no fewer than six million pills of opioids, 332,000 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup, and arresting multiple suspects, including two British nationals, in coordinated operations spanning Lagos, Rivers, Nasarawa, Cross River, Edo, Kaduna, Yobe, Bauchi and Niger States.
According to an official signed statement by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, the seizures, with a combined street value of ₦6,524,000,000.00, were made at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State and the Apapa Seaport, Lagos, following intelligence-led tracking of new trafficking routes being exploited by international drug cartels.
The agency uncovered six million pills of tramadol 225mg, tapentadol 225mg, and carisoprodol 225mg along with 162,000 bottles of codeine syrup in two containers during a joint examination with men of the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies at the Onne port on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th May 2025. Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the Apapa Port discovered another 170,000 bottles of codeine syrup in a container on Thursday 22nd May.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, foiled an attempt by a transnational drug trafficking syndicate to smuggle into Nigeria 92 bags of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 51.10kg. Two British nationals, Mhizha Jordan Alexander Tatendra and Ayedipe Andrew Adejuwon, along with two Nigerians, Shonowo Oluwaseun Imole and Ofuoma Omokaro Ayobami, were arrested.
Alexander, who arrived aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Doha on Thursday 15th May, was placed under surveillance and trailed to the airport car park where he was received by Ayedipe and the other accomplices in an SUV. NDLEA operatives swooped in as the suspects attempted to drive away with the illicit consignment. In his confession, Alexander stated he was recruited during his vacation and promised £1,300 for the delivery.
Further investigation led to a follow-up raid at their residence in Lekki, where operatives recovered ₦93,000, 17,200 South African Rand, and later seized ₦3,810,500 in cash, an Apple laptop, an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and four canisters of laughing gas (Nitrous Oxide).
In other parts of the country, the NDLEA intensified operations against cannabis cultivation and trafficking. On Wednesday 22nd May, NDLEA operatives destroyed 30 hectares of cannabis farms at Esuk-Odot village in Odukpani LGA, Cross River State, seizing 200kg of harvested skunk. On Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th May, a total of 1,957.5kg of the psychoactive plant was destroyed in separate raids on Ohosu forest, Ovia South West LGA and Okhuse community forest, Owan West LGA, Edo State.
In Nasarawa State, two suspects, Sunday Daniel, 51, and Abu Peter, 30, were arrested on Saturday 24th May at Keffi with 4,000kg of skunk hidden beneath unprocessed wood in a lorry, while another suspect, Godwin Obi, 39, was nabbed at Karu with 154.5kg of the same substance on Wednesday 21st May.
In Kaduna, 22-year-old Muhammad Hamza was caught with 57,750 pills of tramadol and diazepam along Kaduna-Zaria expressway at Gwargwaje on Wednesday 21st May. On the same day in Bauchi, 45-year-old Usman Muhammad was arrested with 80 blocks of skunk weighing 45kg along the Bauchi–Misau road.
In Yobe State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a suspect, Adum Muhammed, 29, who was attempting to smuggle 2kg of Colorado (a synthetic strain of cannabis) in 55 parcels into Chad through the Ngamboru Ngala border town in Borno State.
In Niger State, a Mercedes Benz vehicle marked FST 938 FU was intercepted on Mokwa–Jebba road on Thursday 22nd May, with 235 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa weighing 97kg. The driver, Adams Ayibakro, was promptly arrested.
Meanwhile, in Lagos, NDLEA operatives raided the Osapa London area of Lekki where a suspect, Jonathan Isa, was arrested with varying quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, molly, rohypnol, codeine, cannabis, and nitrous oxide. Another raid on Saturday 24th May at Idasun, Eleko, Ibeju Lekki, led to the arrest of Olamilekan Idowu and seizure of 48kg of skunk.
Beyond law enforcement, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy campaign with sensitization lectures at Adamu Babbale Government Secondary School in Dimirkol, Katsina; Mary Hanney Secondary School, Oron, Akwa Ibom; Nnodo Secondary School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; Government Secondary School, Guyuk, Adamawa; and Government Girls Islamic Secondary School, Gwagwarwa, Kano. The Lagos State Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Sarkin Fulani of Lagos, Alhaji Muhammadu Bambado.
Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the dedication and synergy displayed by officers across the PHPC, MMIA, Apapa, Nasarawa, Cross River, Edo, Lagos, Niger, Kaduna, Yobe and Bauchi Commands, noting that “these strategic successes underscore our commitment to dismantling drug networks and protecting the health and security of Nigerians.”
He also praised operatives nationwide for maintaining a balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts.
