In a sweeping nationwide operation, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested several suspects and seized a wide range of illicit drugs, totaling over two tons, from multiple states across Nigeria between April 13 and April 18, 2025.
One of the major arrests occurred on Sunday, April 13, when operatives on patrol along the Bichi-Kano road intercepted Muhammad Mohammed, a 22-year-old suspected supplier of narcotics to bandits. He was found with 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection, a powerful opioid, tied to his thigh and private parts with Sellotape. He was en route to Katsina at the time of arrest.
On the same day, another suspect, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, 43, was apprehended at Research Rimin Kebe area of Nasarawa, Kano State, with 68 blocks of skunk, a variant of cannabis, weighing 30 kilogrammes.
In Lagos, on Tuesday, April 15, NDLEA officers from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) uncovered a shipment of cocaine concealed in 20 sets of religious books bound for Saudi Arabia. The hidden consignment, weighing 500 grammes, was intercepted during routine checks at a courier company.
At another courier facility in Lagos the same day, operatives seized 2.8 kilogrammes of Loud, a potent form of cannabis, concealed in a carton arriving from the United States.
Further south, in Bayelsa State, NDLEA raided a residence along Major General Isaiah Allison Street, Opolo, Yenagoa, on Wednesday, April 16. The operation led to the seizure of 557.2 kilogrammes of skunk, 5.6 kilogrammes of methamphetamine, and 29.8 grammes of heroin. Four suspects were arrested: Sarimiye Suwa Kurtis, 46; Roland Prosper, 34; Sarimiye Tare Paul, 45; and Fidelis Ugbesla, 46.
In Surulere, Lagos, a delivery van was intercepted on Thursday, April 17, with 1,100 kilogrammes of skunk. The driver, Ismail Abdullahi, was taken into custody.
In Kaduna State, on Friday, April 18, NDLEA operatives raided the Zaria hideout of Ike Ani, 30, recovering 31,950 pills of Tramadol 225mg and diazepam.
In Kebbi State, a vehicle loaded with bags of charcoal traveling from Malabil, Benin Republic, was stopped along Bagudo road. Hidden within the sacks were 97 kilogrammes of skunk. Three suspects — Abubakar Ibrahim, 50; Mustapha Aliyu, 32; and Bashar Lawali, 28 — were arrested.
In Anambra, Okafor Marcel, 48, was found with 11.5 kilogrammes of skunk in Abatete, while in Osun State, Ajala Mercy, 27, was arrested with 43 litres of skushi, a cocktail of blackcurrant, cannabis, and opioids, at her residence in Osogbo.
Two large-scale cannabis farms were dismantled in Egbeta forest, Ovia North-East, Edo State. NDLEA officers destroyed 3,717.86 kilogrammes of cannabis grown over 1.48 hectares and recovered an additional 136.5 kilogrammes of processed cannabis.
At the Tincan seaport in Lagos, long-wanted suspect Basorun Usman Kayode, 40, was arrested in connection with a 2023 seizure of 107 kilogrammes of Loud imported from Canada. Another suspect, Dauda Yakubu, known for drug distribution within the seaport community, was also apprehended.
This wave of arrests and seizures underscores NDLEA’s ongoing commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks across Nigeria. Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), has called on officers to remain resolute, urging them to prioritize public safety while upholding the agency’s mandate.
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