By Nkechi Eze
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested three persons with disabilities (PWDs) for alleged drug trafficking in separate operations across Anambra and Kwara states, while operatives also uncovered a massive N5.8 billion consignment of imported cannabis concealed in a Lekki mansion in Lagos.
In an official signed statement, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that the arrests and seizures were part of ongoing nationwide interdiction operations targeting drug trafficking networks and illicit drug production syndicates.
According to the statement, a 60-year-old suspect, Romanus Nwabara, was arrested on Wednesday, 6 May 2026, at Akpaka Forest in Onitsha, Anambra State, following credible intelligence reports. He was reportedly found in possession of 250 grams of skunk packaged in retail sachets.
Babafemi further stated that in a separate raid conducted at Ogbunike area of Anambra State on Thursday, 7 May, NDLEA operatives arrested another person with disability, Amos Kenneth, 25, with 160.3 grams of Tramadol 225mg and 100mg, 80 pills of Diazepam, 38.23 grams of Exol-5, and 176.93 grams of skunk.
In Kwara State, operatives on patrol along Bode Saadu on Friday, 8 May, intercepted a commercial vehicle during a routine search operation. One of the passengers identified as Usman Salisu, also a person with disability, was allegedly found with 6.3 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a brown school bag.
The statement added that operatives of the Agency’s Special Operations Unit on Friday, 8 May, raided a mansion located at 36 African Lane, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, believed to have been used as a drug stash house.
During the operation, officers recovered 4,000 parcels of Loud, a potent imported strain of cannabis, weighing 2,326 kilograms with an estimated street value of over N5.815 billion.
Also recovered from the property were two Mercedes-Benz buses and several designer sachets allegedly used for packaging the illicit substance for retail distribution.
In Nasarawa State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 38-year-old suspect, Emmanuel Osita Okeke, with 129 kilograms of skunk at Nyanya Karu on Monday, 4 May.
Similarly, along the Okene/Lokoja highway in Kogi State, operatives intercepted a white commuter J5 bus heading to Abuja on Friday, 8 May. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 76 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 766 kilograms.
Three suspects identified as Mathew Omohove, Ebuka Desmond, and Babangida Musa were arrested in connection with the seizure.
In another operation at Ijora Badia area of Lagos, NDLEA officers on Wednesday, 6 May, raided a makeshift “skuchies” production factory where two suspects, Bose Jamiu and Gbenga Gege, were allegedly caught in the act of cooking cannabis and mixing it with other illicit substances.
The Agency said 270 litres of already processed skuchies and 106 grams of Tramadol 225mg were recovered during the raid.
Beyond enforcement operations, the Agency said its Commands and formations across the country sustained intensive War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities.
The advocacy activities carried out during the week included enlightenment lectures at Ta’al Model Secondary School, Lafia in Nasarawa State; Federal College of Education, Ilawe Ekiti; traditional rulers in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State; Adventist Secondary Technical College, Owerrinta in Abia State; Golden Anchor Secondary School, Shomolu Lagos; Mary Hanney Secondary School, Oron in Akwa Ibom State; Mallam Ibrahim Islamiyya School, Rano in Kano State; and Isemi-Ile Grammar School in Kajola Local Government Area of Oyo State, among others.
While commending officers and men of the Special Operations Unit as well as Commands in Anambra, Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Lagos States for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their commitment to balancing drug supply reduction operations with sustained anti-drug abuse sensitization campaigns across the country.
He charged officers and personnel of the Agency nationwide to sustain the current operational momentum in the fight against illicit drugs and substance abuse.
