NDLEA Uncovers Synthetic Cannabis ‘Colos’ Factory in Lagos, Smashes Interstate Drug Rings in Nationwide Raids
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has cracked a major narcotic production ring in Lagos, uncovering a clandestine laboratory where “Colos”, a synthetic variant of cannabis also known as Colorado, was being illicitly manufactured in a residential apartment in Ajao Estate, Isolo.
The discovery, according to the NDLEA, follows months of painstaking intelligence operations and surveillance after the Agency intercepted consignments of freshly produced Colos in March and May 2025, raising concerns that the dangerous psychoactive substance, which was formerly smuggled into Nigeria, was now being manufactured domestically.
A breakthrough came on Thursday, 30 October 2025, when operatives stormed the Ajao Estate apartment and arrested the 30-year-old lab owner, Stephen Kelechi Imoh.
The NDLEA recovered 16.2 kilogrammes of freshly processed Colos, as well as chemical agents required for its production – including 1.7kg of ADB-CHMNACA cannabinol, 4.5kg of potassium carbonate and 91 litres of dibromobutane.
In another Lagos operation, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 1 November raided the Mushin base of 28-year-old drug dealer, Afeez Salisu (popularly known as “Malu”), where they seized 16 compressed blocks of Ghana Loud and designer bottles and sachets of Colorado weighing 16.4kg.
A dramatic bust also occurred at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) involving a budding music artist. NDLEA operatives arrested 20-year-old musician, Godspower George Osahenrumwen, popularly known by his stage name “Steady Boy”, while he attempted to take delivery of 140 bags of Loud, a strain of cannabis, concealed in three bathtub cartons imported alongside clothing and gadgets from New York aboard a DHL flight.
He was arrested at Bougain Villa, Primewater Gardens 2, Lekki when he showed up to receive the consignment weighing 77.20kg on behalf of a drug syndicate. His manager, known as “Zee Money”, is currently on the run.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA patrol teams on the Abuja–Jos highway on Sunday, 26 October intercepted 84,710 capsules of tramadol travelling from Onitsha to Bauchi. Further investigations led to the arrest of the receiver, 27-year-old Musa Abdulkarim, in Bauchi.
Two days later, officers arrested 47-year-old Hamza Musa at the Abuja–Kaduna tollgate transporting 32,946 bottles of “Akuskura”, a new psychoactive substance, from Lagos. Separately, 131.5kg of skunk was seized from 30-year-old Saidu Nafiu at Kamfanin Zangon Aya, Igabi LGA.
In Ogun State, three suspects – Seun Olaniyi (24), Rauf Asogba (28) and Ayinla Adeniyi (50) – were arrested on Saturday, 1 November after they were tracked from Benin Republic to Abeokuta, where NDLEA seized 1,779kg of skunk from their bus.
Also in Bauchi, 46-year-old Jamilu Mustapha, alias Last Card, was arrested with 596.4kg of skunk in Nasaru town. Over 532,600 pills of tramadol and exol-5 were recovered in Ilorin, Kwara State that same day, from a truck.
Two Toyota Sienna buses with 1,455kg of skunk were seized in Uhunmwode LGA, Edo State, while in Ondo, NDLEA officers confiscated 2,829kg of skunk linked to a female suspect, Mrs Ige Olarewaju at Ayede, Ogbese, and arrested another suspect with 737kg at Adegbola Junction, Akure.
In Badagry, Lagos, a suspect was arrested with 76.5 litres of “skuchies” – a dangerous cocktail of black currant, skunk and opioids – while in Wukari, Taraba State, 30,370 tramadol pills and 177 grams of methamphetamine were recovered from two suspects conveying the drugs from Onitsha to Yola.
Beyond enforcement, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation programme across the country. Lectures were delivered to schools in Ogbomoso, Ikorodu, Sokoto, Jigawa, and Kano, among others.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the coordinated efforts of the Commands involved – including MMIA Lagos, Kaduna, Edo, Kwara, Ogun, Taraba, Ondo, Seme and Bauchi – and vowed that the Agency would continue to identify, isolate, and dismantle drug networks anywhere in Nigeria.
He assured that the NDLEA would not only seize their drugs but also go after their assets to ensure that no illicit proceeds remain available to them.
“We will continue to target and dismantle every identified drug syndicate in any part of Nigeria while denying them the benefits of their criminal trade,” Marwa said.
The NDLEA’s latest clampdowns signal heightened vigilance and a shift in drug consumption and production trends in Nigeria – especially with the disturbing emergence of locally cooked synthetic cannabis strains.
