NDLEA Intercepts UK-Bound Drugs Concealed in Duvet at Lagos Airport, Arrests Suspects
…Seizes Weapons, Illicit Substances in Raids Across Lagos, Ekiti, Kwara, and Kano
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully intercepted a consignment of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, concealed within a duvet and packaged for export to the United Kingdom.
The operation took place at the cargo shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, 21 January 2025.
Two suspects, Adakole Sunday and Austin Balogun, were arrested in connection with the shipment.
Six parcels of the psychoactive substance, weighing a total of 3.50 kilograms, were recovered.
Investigations revealed that Balogun, who hired Sunday for the operation, was paid N700,000 to facilitate the consignment but allegedly spent most of the money on accommodation and handling charges.
In a separate operation in the Igbo Olumo area of Ikorodu, Lagos, NDLEA officers apprehended two individuals, Joseph Oluwasegun Adewale and Biodun Adelakun.
Their hideout yielded seven litres of skuchies – a dangerous cocktail of blackcurrant, cannabis, and opioids.
Also recovered were several weapons, including:
Three locally made double-barrel rifles
One locally made double-barrel pistol
One English-made pistol
One locally made single-barrel rifle
Three live cartridges
An empty 9mm cartridge
An iron-head axe
Another raid on Sunday, 19 January, in the notorious Akala area of Mushin, Lagos, resulted in the seizure of 47 kilograms of skunk (a potent strain of cannabis) and 25.46 kilograms of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas.
In Ekiti, a 26-year-old suspect, Adepoju Taiwo, was arrested on Thursday, 23 January, with 1.95 kilograms of Canadian Loud along Iworoko Road, Ado-Ekiti.
Meanwhile, in Kwara State, NDLEA operatives apprehended Auwal Sani on Monday, 20 January, in Bode Saadu, Moro Local Government Area.
Sani was found in possession of 50,000 tramadol pills (225mg) weighing 36.56 kilograms.
In Kano State, three suspects, including Nigerien national Abubakar Lami (45), were arrested at Gadar Tamburawa.
The operatives recovered 13.1 kilograms of skunk and 125 litres of suck and die, another dangerous psychoactive substance.
Additionally, in the Gefen Kasa area of Dawakin Kudu Local Government, NDLEA officers located and destroyed a cannabis plantation.
A suspect, Sabo Ali Muhammad (45), was apprehended in connection with the farm.
As part of its ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, NDLEA continued its nationwide sensitisation campaigns.
These activities included lectures and advocacy visits to schools, workplaces, traditional palaces, and community centres.
Highlights included events at:
Army Children Secondary School, Oyo
Government Day Secondary School, Suleja, Niger State
St. Dominic Comprehensive College, Oron, Akwa Ibom
District Junior College, Agege, Lagos
Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, commended the efforts of the MMIA, Lagos, Kano, Kwara, and Ekiti Commands.
He also applauded officers across the country for their commitment to curbing drug abuse and intensifying advocacy efforts in their respective regions.
Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, released the statement on Sunday, 26 January 2025.
