The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its clampdown on drug trafficking networks with a series of major operations across the country, resulting in multiple arrests, large drug seizures, and the interception of a staggering sum in counterfeit travelers’ cheques.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), working at a courier company, intercepted cocaine consignments hidden in unusual packages. On Thursday, 3rd July 2025, officers recovered 420 grams of cocaine concealed in 84 female lipsticks bound for the United Kingdom. Another 280 grams of the same drug were discovered inside a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) being sent to Saudi Arabia.
A major breakthrough occurred with the arrest of a notorious drug kingpin, Ajetsibo Emami, also known as “Warri Kinsman.” He was apprehended in Ikeja, Lagos, on Saturday, 28th June following a three-day operation by NDLEA operatives. The crackdown led to the arrest of three other individuals and the discovery of 24 jumbo bags containing 681 pouches of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, with a total weight of 414.2 kilograms. Intelligence reports indicated that the consignment was destined for Lekki and other locations across Lagos and beyond.
In another development, a Lagos-based family was exposed as the brains behind a drug distribution network operating within the city. Businessman Ajah Johnson Uchenna and his wife, Rosemary, were initially arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS) in Ojo on 13th June and later transferred to NDLEA along with a 277.5kg consignment of skunk. Ongoing intelligence revealed the drug business was still active from their residence. A follow-up raid on 1st July led to the discovery of an additional 231kg of skunk. Three individuals, including their daughters Ngozi and Blessing Uchenna, and a family friend, Okoro Elijah, were arrested while operating the illicit business in the absence of the couple.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, on Wednesday, 2nd July, NDLEA operatives intercepted a frequent flyer, Aburemi Hysent, who was caught with 7,660 pills of tramadol 225mg and 200mg hidden inside food items among other goods he was transporting to Italy. He confessed that he was to receive €800 upon successful delivery.
In a separate incident at the Lagos airport’s export shed, operatives intercepted 52 counterfeit travelers’ cheques valued at 17.7 million Australian dollars. The cheques were concealed in children’s books being exported to Malaysia via Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight. A freight agent, Bolarinwa Saheed, was arrested and handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.
Across other parts of the country, NDLEA operatives continued their aggressive interdiction efforts. At the Seme border in Badagry, a store in the Baba-Pupa area was raided, resulting in the seizure of 718 large wraps of skunk weighing 359 kilograms. Along the Okene-Lokoja highway, tramadol and co-codamol pills along with synthetic cannabis (Colorado) were intercepted, and the owners of the consignments were tracked and arrested in Abuja.
In Osun State, several coordinated raids led to multiple arrests and the seizure of over 62,000 pills and ampoules of opioids, including tramadol, pentazocine injections, and codeine-based syrups. A major cannabis farmland spanning 9.67 hectares in Ikaka, Oke-Ila forest, was raided and destroyed, with seven suspects arrested on-site.
NDLEA officers in Borno seized 167 kilograms of skunk in Gamboru-Ngala, while another 452 kilograms were intercepted at Gadar Tamburawa along the Zaria-Kano road, leading to the arrest of two suspects. In a related operation, 11,000 pills of tramadol were recovered from a suspect along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway, while in Sokoto, a 62-year-old man was arrested for possession of 4,800 pills of tramadol.
Further arrests were made in Kebbi State, where 312 kilograms of skunk and 10,000 diazepam tablets were seized from a notorious base in Yauri. In Taraba State, two suspects were caught with nearly 50,000 capsules of tramadol.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives apprehended a wanted suspect, Alaba Monday, in one of his cannabis farms in the Ewere forest, with 115 kilograms of processed skunk. Three others were arrested in another farm measuring over two hectares.
Meanwhile, in Cross River State, a 78-year-old suspect, Mike Abeng, was arrested with 14.49 kilograms of skunk and tramadol during a raid in Ofudua, Obubra LGA. Additional suspects were apprehended in the nearby Ovonum community with varying quantities of illicit substances.
The agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign also continued across the country. Sensitization lectures were delivered at Queen of Angel Secondary School in Enugu State, Divine Purpose College in Lagos, Al-Furqan College in Katsina, and to residents of Gomari Binta Suga community in Maiduguri.
Commending the efforts of officers in Lagos, MMIA, Seme, Kogi, Osun, Borno, Kano, Edo, Kaduna, Cross River, Kebbi, and Taraba commands, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their dedication in balancing drug supply suppression with public education and rehabilitation efforts.
