…as operatives intercept 25kg meth
By Nkechi Eze
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has declared that no concealment technique, regardless of how sophisticated, can outsmart the agency’s operatives, following the interception of 25.05 kilogrammes of methamphetamine hidden in packs of assorted breakfast cereals imported from South Africa.
Marwa made the declaration while commending officers and men of the agency for a series of successful operations that also led to the arrest of an American professional basketball player with 33.95kg of Loud, the dismantling of an illegal firearms manufacturing factory in Kaduna State and the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs across several states.
According to an official statement signed by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the methamphetamine consignment was intercepted on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, following the arrest of a 56-year-old suspect, Omokan Isaac Babatope, whose real name was identified as Chinedu Onwude.
A search of his two travelling boxes at the arrival hall of Terminal II led to the recovery of 25 parcels of a white crystalline substance weighing 25.05kg. The drugs had been carefully concealed inside packs of assorted breakfast cereals and cereal-based food products in an attempt to evade security screening.
The suspect, who holds Nigerian and South African passports and has reportedly lived in South Africa for over 24 years, allegedly confessed to adopting a false identity through forged documents to gain entry into the country.
He further disclosed that a South Africa-based individual, identified as Obiora Okoye, contracted him to deliver the illicit consignment in Nigeria for a payment of 20,000 South African Rands.
In another operation at the same airport on November 11, NDLEA operatives arrested a 28-year-old American citizen, Greene Da’monte Khiree, over 33.95kg of Loud allegedly imported from Thailand through Dubai.
The suspect was apprehended at the airport car park after reportedly abandoning two checked-in bags bearing his name tags and attempting to leave with only his carry-on luggage.
A search of the abandoned bags uncovered 32 parcels of Loud weighing 33.95kg, alongside a tracking device.
The suspect, a native of Savannah, Georgia, United States, reportedly told investigators that he had been living in Thailand since October 2025, where he plays professional basketball, and had travelled to Nigeria on holiday to establish networks for his sporting career.
However, forensic examination of his mobile phone allegedly revealed information indicating his knowledge of and involvement in the drug trafficking operation.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives dismantled an illegal firearms manufacturing facility at Sabon Garin Kangin on November 9 and arrested a 45-year-old suspect, Sagiru Musa.
Items recovered from the facility included 17 locally manufactured Dane guns, two pistols, 25 Dane gun pipes and other materials used in firearm production.
In a separate operation along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, operatives intercepted a 31-year-old woman, Tabara Dauda, at Jere on November 13, with 196 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition and N675,000 cash.
The agency also recorded significant drug seizures in Lagos, Kaduna, Ondo, Delta, Edo and Osun states, including cannabis, tramadol, codeine syrup, methamphetamine and other controlled substances.
In Lagos, 119.71kg of cannabis was recovered from a suspect at Ebute Metta, while another operation in Ajah led to the seizure of cannabis, codeine syrup, Rohypnol, tramadol, nitrous oxide and pregabalin.
In Kaduna, operatives recovered 499.3kg of skunk from two suspects at Gonin-Gora, alongside other seizures involving tramadol.
In Ondo State, 560kg of cannabis was recovered from a storage facility after the arrest of two suspects at Olabi village, while another 122kg was seized during a raid on a cannabis farm in Ipele Forest.
Similarly, 255.670kg of cannabis and 1.5kg of cannabis seeds were recovered from a woman in Delta State. Another suspected drug distributor was arrested in Ughelli South with assorted illicit substances, including cannabis, codeine syrup, tramadol and MDMA.
In Osun State, NDLEA operatives destroyed a cannabis farm estimated to contain 2,137.5kg of the illicit plant at Owena Forest Reserve, while also recovering dried and fresh cannabis from a suspect arrested in the area.
In Edo State, a woman was arrested at Ikpoba Hill, Benin City, with 14kg of Loud, 65 grammes of Colorado and 73 grammes of methamphetamine.
Commending the officers and men of the affected commands, Marwa said the interception of methamphetamine concealed in breakfast cereal packs demonstrated that traffickers could not defeat the agency through ingenious concealment methods.
He also observed that the discovery of the illegal firearms factory in Kaduna further highlighted the connection between illicit drug activities and violent crime.
The NDLEA chairman charged officers across the country to sustain the momentum in the agency’s drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, while maintaining vigilance in the fight against drug trafficking.
The agency also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, religious centres and communities across the country during the period under review.
