Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a cocaine shipment concealed in religious books destined for Saudi Arabia and arrested a suspected drug courier who hid illicit substances in his private part.
The agency said in a statement on Sunday that the cocaine, weighing 500 grams and packaged in 20 parcels, was discovered at a courier company in Lagos on Tuesday, April 15. The parcels were cleverly hidden within 20 sets of religious books.
The NDLEA explained that officers attached to the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) uncovered the drugs while screening outbound cargo meant for Saudi Arabia.
Also on the same day, NDLEA operatives at another Lagos-based courier firm intercepted 2.8 kilograms of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, concealed in a carton originating from the United States of America.
In Kano State, a 22-year-old suspect, Muhammad Mohammed, believed to be a supplier of illicit drugs to bandits, was arrested along the Bichi-Kano road on Sunday, April 13. The suspect was found with 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection, which he had tied to his thighs and private part using Sellotape. Another suspect, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, 43, was also apprehended in the Rimin Kebe area of Nasarawa LGA, Kano, with 68 blocks of cannabis, weighing 30 kilograms.
In Bayelsa State, NDLEA operatives stormed a house on Major General Isaiah Allison Street in the Opolo area of Yenagoa on Wednesday, April 16, where they recovered 557.2 kilograms of cannabis, 5.6 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 29.8 grams of heroin. Four suspects—Sarimiye Suwa Kurtis, 46; Roland Prosper, 34; Sarimiye Tare Paul, 45; and Fidelis Ugbesla, 46—were arrested during the operation.
Meanwhile, 1,100 kilograms of cannabis were recovered from a delivery van in the Surulere area of Lagos on Thursday, April 17. The driver, Ismail Abdullahi, was taken into custody.
In another operation in Zaria, Kaduna State, NDLEA officers raided the hideout of a suspect, Ike Ani, 30, and seized 31,950 pills of Tramadol (225mg) and Diazepam on Friday, April 18.
Similarly, a vehicle loaded with charcoal bags was intercepted along Bagudo Road, Kebbi State, the same day. A search revealed 97 kilograms of cannabis concealed in the charcoal. Three suspects—Abubakar Ibrahim, 50; Mustapha Aliyu, 32; and Bashar Lawali, 28—were arrested.
In Anambra State, a 48-year-old man, Okafor Marcel, was arrested in Abatete with 11.5 kilograms of cannabis, while in Osun State, a female suspect, Ajala Mercy, 27, was arrested in Osogbo with 43 litres of a psychoactive concoction known as “skushi.”
Additionally, two cannabis farms in the Egbeta forest, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State, were destroyed by NDLEA officers. The raid led to the destruction of 3,717.86 kilograms of cannabis cultivated on 1.49 hectares of land, and the recovery of 136.5 kilograms of processed cannabis.
At the Tincan Seaport in Lagos, a suspect, Basorun Usman Kayode, 40, was arrested after being on the run for two years. He was linked to a 2023 seizure of 107 kilograms of Loud imported from Canada. Another suspect, Dauda Yakubu, was also arrested for distributing drugs within the seaport community.
The agency also reported ongoing advocacy campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative across the country, including sensitization lectures in Lagos, Ekiti, Niger, Osun, Cross River, and Anambra states.
NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa, commended the operatives for their efforts, noting a balanced approach to drug supply and demand reduction. He praised the agency’s commands in DOGI, Kano, Lagos, Kaduna, Kebbi, Osun, Zone 13, Edo, and Tincan for their diligence.
