NDLEA seizes N1.04 billion worth of illicit drugs in Lagos hotel raid

The operation also resulted in the recovery of several items suspected to be proceeds of illicit drug activities, including Toyota Prado Land Cruiser (Lagos AKD 472 OZ), Toyota Sienna Vehicle (Lagos KJA 79 HJ), Volkswagen Delivery Van (Lagos AAA 525 JE), Kia Cerato Car (Lagos BDG 860 GQ), Grand Caravan Dodge (Lagos APP 847 YF), 74 new television sets, 10 used televisions, and 13 refrigerators, among others.

In a separate operation, NDLEA’s Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted a Saudi-bound shipment of 46 wraps of cocaine weighing 547 grams, hidden in body creams. This seizure occurred on Wednesday, April 23, at a courier firm in Lagos. Additionally, a consignment containing 1.8 kg of pentazocine injections and 60 grams of bromazepam tablets bound for Canada was intercepted the same day.

NDLEA operatives in Jigawa State also seized opioid consignments on April 23. The drugs were being transported from Kano to Niger Republic and Yobe State, and two suspects, Abba Ibrahim (28) and Shuaibu Umar (29), were arrested with a Toyota Sienna vehicle loaded with 200,000 tramadol pills (250mg) and 217,500 capsules of pregabalin.

A follow-up operation led to the arrest of 41-year-old Jamilu Muhammad in Kano, where an additional 1,584,000 tramadol pills were found, bringing the total seized opioids to 2,001,500 pills.

In the Seme Border area in Badagry, Lagos, three Ghanaian women—Haziza Zubairu (42), Samirat Mustapha (43), and Jamila Salifu (26)—were arrested on Sunday, April 20, while attempting to smuggle 4.8 kg of Ghana Loud into Nigeria.

In Kano, a 60-year-old woman, Safiya Shamsu, was arrested on April 25 with 5.6 kg of skunk (a potent cannabis strain), and Muntari Labaran, 35, was apprehended in Yelwa, Dala LGA, following the seizure of 100 liters of codeine syrup.

Further, in Edo State, NDLEA operatives destroyed 3,814.9 kg of skunk cultivated on two farms in Ugbodu community, Ovia North East LGA, on April 24. Three suspects Samuel Samson (26), Daniel Peter (20), and Abel Edah (31) were arrested during the operation.

The NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued with educational outreach at several institutions, including Dan-Doro Community Arabic Secondary School, Katsina, St. James Anglican School, Kebbi, Federal Government Girls College, Tambuwal, Sokoto, and Oganiru Age Grade, Onitsha, Anambra. Additionally, the Lagos State Command visited HRM Oba Kabir Adewale Shotobi, the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, to further support the WADA initiative.

Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, commended the efforts of NDLEA operatives across the country, praising their balanced approach in curbing both the supply and demand for illicit drugs.