Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted cocaine consignments concealed in lipsticks and property title documents going to the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, respectively.

According to the NDLEA, the illicit drug consignments were recovered from cargos being prepared for shipment at a courier company in Lagos on Thursday, 3rd July 2025, by NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) attached to the logistics firm.

This was made known in a statement on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja.


Babafemi disclosed that a total of 420 grams of cocaine factory-fitted in 84 pieces of female lipsticks heading to the UK were seized, while 280 grams of the same Class A drug were uncovered in a property title document (Certificate of Occupancy, C of O) being sent to Saudi Arabia.

A notorious drug kingpin, Ajetsibo Emami, popularly known as ‘Warri Kinsman’, was on Saturday, 28th June, arrested in Ikeja, Lagos, after NDLEA operatives dismantled his drug trafficking network in a three-day operation leading to the arrest of three other suspects. Recovered from Emami’s network were 24 jumbo bags containing 681 pouches of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 414.2 kilograms.

The bust of Emami’s drug ring followed credible intelligence on his attempt to move the shipment to the Lekki area of Lagos, from where it would be distributed to other parts of the state and across the country.

A businessman, Ajah Johnson Uchenna, and his wife, Rosemary Uchenna, along with their two daughters: Stella Uchenna and Ngozi Uchenna, as well as their family friend, Okoro Elijah, have been taken into custody after investigation revealed they run a major illicit drug distribution network in Lagos. The couple was first arrested on Friday, 13th June, by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the Ojo area of the state and transferred to NDLEA along with 277.5 kg of skunk.

While they were still being investigated in custody, credible intelligence revealed that the family business was going on in their house. This led to a raid of their home and a packing store where 231 kg of the same substance was recovered on Tuesday, 1st July. Three persons arrested during the raid include their two daughters: Ngozi Uchenna and Blessing Uchenna, as well as their family friend, Okoro Elijah, who were running the family business in the absence of the couple.

Meanwhile, NDLEA said its operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, intercepted a frequent flyer, Aburemi Hysent, who specialises in conveying goods for customers from Nigeria to Italy and vice versa.

According to the statement, the suspect was found to have hidden 7,660 pills of Tramadol 225mg and 200mg inside food items packed among other goods he was conveying to Italy.

He claimed he was to be paid the sum of 800 euros upon successful delivery of the drug consignment in Italy.

In another interdiction operation at the Lagos airport, a total of 52 pieces of travellers’ cheques concealed in children’s books, worth 17,700,000 Australian dollars, going to Malaysia through Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight, were on Friday, 4th July, intercepted by NDLEA operatives at the export shed of the airport, while a freight agent, Bolarinwa Saheed, has been arrested.

The travellers’ cheques, suspected to be counterfeit, and the suspect will be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.

While NDLEA officers at Seme border, Badagry, on Saturday, 5th July, recovered 718 big balls of skunk weighing 359 kg from a store in Baba-Pupa area of the border community, operatives on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja highway intercepted 10,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg and co-codamol as well as 1.050 kg of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, leading to the arrest of the owners of the waybilled drug consignments: Chinedu Odo, Samuel Ogbonna, and Kingsley Ugaji at Jabi Park in Abuja during follow-up operations.

In Osun State, two suspects: Agunbiade Folusho, 40, and Suleiman Dasola, 28, were arrested in the Ajegunle area of Osogbo on Thursday, 3rd July, with 13,901 pills and ampoules of different opioids recovered from them, while another suspect, Adebayo Adewale, 50, was nabbed at a patent medicine shop on Arubidi Street, Ile-Ife, with 48,205 pills of opioids.

A raid of a vulcanizer workshop at Akindeko Junction, Alekuwodo area of Osogbo on Tuesday, 1st July, led to the arrest of three suspects: Wasiu Ajadi, 45; Babatunde Jamiu Ojo, 35; and Yusuf Sarafadeen, 39, with 1,250 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 850 pills of Tramadol, and three bottles of codeine-based syrup.

Not less than 24,175 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on 9.67 hectares of cannabis farmland at Ikaka, Oke-Ila forest, Osun State, when NDLEA operatives raided the area, where seven suspects: Bunmi Adedapo, 41; Adebisi Sodiq, 26; Babatunde Gani, 22; John Sunday, 30; Israel Odabe, 29; Solomon Odabe, 21; and Prosper Odabe, 23, were arrested on Thursday, 3rd July.

In Borno, 167 kg of skunk was recovered at Gamboru-Ngala, while a total of 452 kg of the same psychoactive substance was seized at Gadar Tamburawa along the Zaria-Kano road, with two suspects: Nasuru Saleh and Mustapha Muhammad, arrested in connection with the seizure on Thursday, 3rd July.

While NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway recovered 11,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg from Sule Ibrahim Sadiq, 30, on Thursday, 3rd July, their counterparts in Sokoto arrested 62-year-old Joseph Onungene in connection with the seizure of 4,800 pills of Tramadol 225mg.

In Kebbi State, operatives raided the Bakin Kasuwa Yauri base, where they seized 312 kg of skunk and 10,000 tabs of diazepam. The duo of Chigbo Okolo, 52, and Ishaku Musa, 28, were on Saturday, 5th July, arrested with 49,930 capsules of Tramadol at Mallum, Ardo-Kola Local Council Area of Taraba State.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided the Ewere forest in Owan West LGA, where they arrested a wanted suspect, Alaba Monday, 49, in one of his cannabis farms with 115 kg of processed skunk, while three other suspects: Shamsu Abdullahi, Peter Egboko, and Justin John were nabbed in another farm measuring 2.050201 hectares.

A 78-year-old suspect, Mike Abeng, was arrested with 14.49 kg of skunk and Tramadol during a raid by NDLEA operatives at Ofudua, Obubra LGA, Cross River State. Others nabbed with different quantities of illicit substances during the operation include: Oyom Akam, 50; Sylvester Odem, 40; and Moses Ayo, 50, apprehended at Ovonum, Obubra LGA.

Reacting to the development, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of DOGI, MMIA, Lagos, Seme, Kogi, Osun, Borno, Kano, Edo, Kaduna, Cross River, Kebbi, and Taraba Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week.

Marwa praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, said its operatives have intercepted no fewer than three million five hundred thousand, 3,500,000, pills of opioids and one hundred and sixty-three thousand, 163,000, bottles of codeine syrup with combined street value of over three billion, four hundred and twenty-eight million naira (N3,428,000,000.00) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and in Lagos.


NDLEA disclosed that the bulk of the seizures: two million pills of tafrodol 225mg and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrup, was made on Tuesday 29th April 2025 during a joint examination of a watch-listed container by its officers, men of Customs Service and other security agencies at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State.

This was made known in a statement by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters Abuja.




Babafemi stated that a total of 1,500,000 pills of a controlled opioid were recovered from a suspect Olarenwaju Wahab at the Alaba-Rago area of Ojo on Tuesday 29th April in Lagos

He disclosed that the source of the consignment was traced to Q104B Road 25, Victoria Garden City, Lekki, which is the residence of one Obinna Kenneth who is now at large.


Meanwhile, Babafemi announced that NDLEA operatives at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos have intercepted 42 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 20kg, concealed in tins of chocolate, milo beverage, white kidney beans and dark red kidney beans packaged as part of cargos that came into the Lagos airport onboard a British Airways flight from Canada.

According to the statement, three suspects including the receiver of the consignment, Monsurat Ewawunmi Lawson, have been arrested between Wednesday 30th April and Saturday 3rd May.

Announcing other interceptions by the NDLEA, Babafemi said: “In like manner, a businessman Bobby Morris Osas was on Friday 2nd May arrested at the Lagos airport while attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Italy. A thorough search of his luggage led to the seizure of 8,130 pills of tramadol 225mg, 200mg and 100mg.




“Attempt by another syndicate to ship 104grams of tramadol and skunk concealed in bottles of body cream to Iraq through a courier company in Lagos was also thwarted on Monday 28th April by NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI).

“In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Kaduna – Zaria expressway on Saturday 3rd May intercepted a commercial vehicle coming from Nasarawa State heading to Zamfara State. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a total of Nine Hundred and Forty-Two (942) explosives concealed in a sack and the subsequent arrest of a 30-year-old suspect Nura Sani Muhammad (alias Nura Hariji).


“Five members of a syndicate led by Aminu Musa (a.k.a Kadagi) were on Wednesday 30th April arrested by NDLEA operatives at Dangoro market, Kano with 50 blocks of skunk weighing 21.6kg recovered from them.

“In Edo State, operatives acting on intelligence on Thursday 1st May intercepted at Uromi, Esan North-East, a white Toyota bus conveying assorted opioids from Onitsha, Anambra State heading to Auchi.



“Recovered from the vehicle include: 314,020 pills of tramadol, rophynol, diazepam, exol5; 638 bottles of codeine syrup and 200 ampoules of pentazocine injection, while a suspect Dare Adeyemo was taken into custody.

“A Mazda commercial bus marked XA343TSE was equally intercepted at Agu-Awka junction, Awka, Anambra state by NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 30th April while a total of 50,400 capsules of tramadol, 500 tablets of co-codamol and 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection were recovered and a suspect Chinedu Eneh arrested.

“In Niger State, NDLEA officers on patrol along Kontagora -Mokwa road on Saturday 3rd May intercepted a Mitsubishi canter truck marked RBH 104 ZY. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 5,500 capsules of tramadol and 2,300 ampoules of pentazocine injection as well as the arrest of a suspect Yusuf Abubakar, 30.

“After 10 months of painstaking investigation, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 26th April arrested a wanted drug kingpin, the 52-year-old Managing Director of Ovidaq International Ltd, Dominic Chiegozie Obijiaku over his involvement in the importation of a consignment of 2,616,060 pills of tramadol 225mg intercepted by NDLEA at Apapa seaport in Lagos on 28th July 2024. A follow-up operation at his house in Lekki led to the seizure of 51 wraps of Canadian Loud weighing 34grams.”



Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has directed that the suspect and exhibits be transferred to the appropriate security agency for further action.

The NDLEA boss commended the officers and men of DOGI, MMIA, Lagos, Kano, PHPC, Kaduna, Anambra, Edo, Niger and Apapa Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week.

Marwa also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have raided an 80-room, five-storey hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, used as a cover for distributing illicit substances.

The new facility, known as Hook Hotel and also referred to as Caesar Hotel and Caesar Lounge, is located at 16 Waziri Ibrahim Street, off Elsie Femi Pearse Street, Victoria Island.

In a statement on Sunday, the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said operatives recovered 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, with a total weight of 417.3 kilograms and a street value of N1,042,500,000, during an operation that lasted between Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26, 2025.

Items suspected to be proceeds of the illicit drug trade recovered from the premises include a Toyota Prado Landcruiser Jeep (Lagos AKD 472 OZ), a Toyota Sienna vehicle (Lagos KJA 79 HJ), a Volkswagen delivery van (Lagos AAA 525 JE), a Kia Cerato car (Lagos BDG 860 GQ), a Grand Caravan Dodge (Lagos APP 847 YF), 74 new television sets, 10 used television sets, and 13 refrigerators, among others.

In another major operation in Jigawa State with a follow-up in Kano, NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, on Wednesday, April 23, intercepted consignments of opioids being moved from Kano to Niger Republic and Yobe State.

The drugs, hidden in a Toyota Sienna vehicle with registration number ABJ 182 NW, were intercepted around 2:30am along the Kano-Ringim road in Gumel town. Two suspects, Abba Ibrahim, 28, and Shuaibu Umar, 29, were arrested.

Recovered from the vehicle were 200,000 pills of Tramadol 250mg and 217,500 capsules of Pregabalin. A swift follow-up operation in Kano led to the arrest of 41-year-old Jamilu Muhammad at his residence in Mil Tara, Layin Technical area of Kano, where additional 1,584,000 pills of Tramadol 250mg were discovered, stacked inside a Nissan 18-seater bus marked DAL 372 XA and a room in his house. This brings the total number of recovered opioids to 2,001,500 pills.

Meanwhile, barely a week after NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation uncovered 20 parcels of cocaine concealed inside religious books bound for Saudi Arabia at a logistics company in Lagos, operatives have again intercepted another shipment of 46 wraps of cocaine weighing 547 grams, hidden in body cream destined for the Middle East. The seizure was made on Wednesday, April 23, at a courier firm in Lagos. Another consignment intercepted the same day included 1.8kg of Pentazocine injection and 60 grams of Bromazepam tablets, heading to Canada.

At the Seme border area of Badagry, Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested three Ghanaian ladies at the Gbaji checkpoint on Sunday, April 20, while they were attempting to smuggle a combined 4.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, into Nigeria. The suspects are Haziza Zubairu, 42; Samirat Mustapha, 43; and Jamila Salifu, 26.

In Kano, a 60-year-old woman, Safiya Shamsu, was nabbed on Friday, April 25, at Samegu area of Kumbotso Local Government Area with 5.6 kilograms of skunk, a variant of cannabis. Another suspect, Muntari Labaran, 35, was arrested following the seizure of 100 litres of codeine syrup from him at Yelwa area of Dala LGA.

Similarly, a total of 3,814.9 kilograms of skunk was destroyed on two farms in Ugbodu community, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State on Thursday, April 24, when NDLEA operatives raided the plantations. Three suspects — Samuel Samson, 26; Daniel Peter, 20; and Abel Edah, 31 — were arrested during the operation.

The agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities continued across the country during the past week. Lectures were delivered to students and staff of Dan-Doro Community Arabic Secondary School, Doro, Katsina; St. James Anglican School, Badariya, Kebbi; Federal Government Girls College, Tambuwal, Sokoto; and members of the Oganiru age grade in Onitsha, Anambra State. In Lagos, the NDLEA Strategic Command paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Kabir Adewale Shotobi.

Commending the officers and men of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, and the Lagos, Kano, Jigawa, Edo, and Seme Commands for the arrests and seizures, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), also praised their counterparts across the country for maintaining a balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts.