Felix Temitope, Abuja
DAILY COURIER – Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have recorded significant breakthroughs in their ongoing crackdown on illicit drug trafficking and abuse, intercepting a UK-bound drug consignment concealed in a duvet and making multiple arrests across Lagos, Ekiti, Kwara, and Kano states.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) cargo shed in Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted six parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 3.50 kilograms. The drugs, concealed inside a duvet and packaged for export to the United Kingdom, were discovered on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
Two suspects, Adakole Sunday and Austin Balogun, were arrested in connection with the consignment. Balogun, identified as the main agent, admitted to being paid ₦700,000 for the export but revealed he spent most of the money on export handling charges and securing an apartment.
In a separate operation in the Igbo Olumo area of Ikorodu, Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Joseph Oluwasegun Adewale and Biodun Adelakun, at their hideout. The raid uncovered seven liters of skuchies—a psychoactive substance made from black currant, cannabis, and opioids—alongside an arsenal of weapons, including: Three locally made double-barrel rifles. One locally made double-barrel pistol. One English-made pistol. One locally made single-barrel rifle.
Others are: three cartridges, one empty 9mm cartridge and an iron-head axe.
On January 19, operatives also seized 47kg of skunk (a cannabis strain) and 25.46kg of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, during a raid in the Akala area of Mushin, Lagos.
In Ekiti State, 26-year-old Adepoju Taiwo was arrested on January 23 with 1.95kg of Canadian Loud on Iworoko Road in Ado-Ekiti. Similarly, in Kwara State, NDLEA operatives apprehended Auwal Sani on January 20 in Bode Saadu, Moro Local Government Area. Sani was found in possession of 50,000 tramadol pills weighing 36.56kg.
In Kano, three suspects, including a Nigerien national, Abubakar Lami (45), and two others, Abba Sani (35) and Auwal Aliyu (32), were arrested at Gadar Tamburawa with 13.1kg of skunk and 125 liters of suck and die, another psychoactive substance. Additionally, in Gefen Kasa, Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area, NDLEA officers discovered and destroyed a cannabis plantation and arrested Sabo Ali Muhammad (45) in connection with the illegal farm.
The NDLEA also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy last week. Sensitization lectures were delivered to schools, workplaces, communities, and traditional rulers’ palaces across the country, including:
Army Children Secondary School, Oyo, Oyo State. Government Day Secondary School, Gwadangwaji, Kebbi State. Government Day Secondary School, Suleja, Niger State
In other states, St. Dominic Comprehensive College, Oron, Akwa Ibom State. District Junior College, Agege, Lagos and Pompomari community, Damaturu, Yobe State.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency's officers in Lagos, Kano, Kwara, and Ekiti for their successful operations. He also applauded their counterparts nationwide for their commitment to WADA advocacy, urging continued dedication to the fight against drug abuse and trafficking.
