By Deborah Nnamdi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Chinese businessman, an 80-year-old Nigerian woman, and several others in a sweeping nationwide operation targeting drug trafficking networks. The week-long interdiction effort, which spanned from July 21 to July 26, resulted in the seizure of large quantities of synthetic and imported cannabis, opioids, and other illicit substances across multiple states.
In a statement issued Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA confirmed that one of the most significant arrests took place at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. A Chinese national, Liang Tak You, was apprehended on Friday, July 25, after arriving from Bangkok via Dubai aboard an Emirates flight. Operatives, acting on intelligence, intercepted Liang at the arrival hall and discovered two suitcases filled with 50 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 26.1 kilograms.
In Calabar, Cross River State, an 80-year-old woman, Grace Ekpeme, was arrested at her home in the Edet-Nsa area of Calabar South in the early hours of Saturday, July 26. Authorities recovered over 3 kilograms of cannabis from her residence.
Several other seizures and arrests were recorded across the country. In Lagos on July 23, operatives intercepted a man identified as Chidi Agbafo along the Epe-Ajah Expressway. He was found with 21.7 kilograms of Colorado cannabis—some disguised in moimoi sachets—and 3.8 litres of codeine syrup. He allegedly intended to transport the drugs to Warri and Oghara in Delta State. On the same day at the Apapa seaport, NDLEA officers, working alongside Customs and other security agencies, uncovered 101 kilograms of Canadian Loud concealed in 202 tins labeled “Bean Salad Mix.” The drugs were packed inside two Toyota Sienna buses in a container that had arrived from Canada.
On the Abuja-Kaduna highway, Usman Musa was arrested while traveling to Kano in a commercial bus. He was found with 71,000 pills of tramadol, diazepam, and Exol-5. In Maiduguri, Borno State, a woman named Binta Usman was caught with 30.1 kilograms of cannabis on July 23. A follow-up operation two days later led to the arrest of her alleged accomplice, Bala Abdullahi.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives raided a cannabis farm in Bending Corner Forest, Idoani, Ose Local Government Area, on July 26. Three brothers—Nanna, Chizom, and Maxwell Ozirinye—were arrested. During the operation, authorities destroyed about 2,500 kilograms of cannabis and recovered an additional 121.4 kilograms of processed cannabis.
Further arrests and seizures were recorded in several other states. In Benin City, Edo State, 26-year-old Bright Sunday Okon was arrested with various illicit drugs including Colorado, Loud, Arizona, skunk, and methamphetamine. In Keffi, Nasarawa State, 105.4 kilograms of skunk were recovered from an abandoned vehicle. In Minna, Niger State, Bashir Abdullahi was apprehended with 6,400 tramadol pills. In Ogun State, a raid at the base of Jamiu Omolaja in Ifo yielded 113 kilograms of cannabis. On the Gombe-Bajoga road, Adamu Adamu was caught with 10,910 tramadol capsules.
In Kogi State, a consignment of skunk concealed in food items was intercepted, leading to the arrest of 27-year-old Kindness Bala in Abuja. He reportedly planned to travel to Katsina and eventually Qatar. Also in Kogi, a truck intercepted in Ayingba was found carrying 23,600 tramadol pills, 300 ampoules of pentazocine, and 700 grams of cannabis.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the efforts of the agency’s commands in Lagos, Cross River, Ondo, Edo, Borno, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Gombe, Kaduna, and Kogi States. He praised the operatives nationwide for what he described as a balanced and strategic approach to curbing both the supply and demand sides of the drug menace.
