NDLEA raids Lagos hotel, recovers N1.042billion illicit drug consignments

NDLEA stated that three suspects – Eze Ayitu, Ofuokwu Samuel and Emmanuel Ameh – were arrested in the course of the operation at the five-storey hotel building between Friday 25th and Saturday 26th April 2025 while two others – Noble Philip and his partner Kenneth – are currently at large.

Similarly, Babafemi announced that NDLEA in another major interdiction in Jigawa state with a follow up operation in Kano, its operatives acting on intelligence on Wednesday 23rd April seized consignments of opioids being moved from Kano to Niger Republic and Yobe state through Jigawa.

“Recovered from the Sienna vehicle were 200,000 pills of tramadol 250mg and 217,500 capsules of pregabalin,” Babafemi added.

This brings the total number of the recovered opioids to 2,001,500 pills.

Barely a week after NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) uncovered 20 parcels of cocaine concealed inside religious books going to Saudi Arabia at a logistics company in Lagos, the operatives have again intercepted another shipment of 46 wraps of cocaine weighing 547grams hidden in body cream going to the Middle East country.

The seizure was made on Wednesday 23rd April at a courier firm in Lagos. Another consignment intercepted same day include: 1.8kg pentazocine injection and 60grams bromazepam tablets heading to Canada.

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

In Kano, a 60-year-old grandma Safiya Shamsu was on Friday 25th April nabbed at Samegu area of Kumbotso LGA with 5.6kg skunk, a strain of cannabis, while another suspect Muntari Labaran, 35, was taken into custody following the seizure of 100 litres of codeine syrup from him at Yelwa area of Dala LGA.

A total of 3,814.9kg skunk was destroyed on two farms in Ugbodu community, Ovia North East LGA, Edo state on Thursday 24th April when NDLEA operatives raided the plantations where three suspects: Samuel Samson, 26; Daniel Peter, 20; and Abel Edah, 31, were arrested.

Reacting to the development, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of DOGI, Lagos, Kano, Jigawa, Edo and Seme Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week.

Marwa equally 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.