The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two British nationals, Mhizha Jordan Alexander Tatendra and Ayedipe Andrew Adejuwon, for attempting to smuggle into Nigeria 92 jumbo bags of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 51.10 kilograms.
The arrest took place at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, following the arrival of Alexander on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha on Thursday, 15th May 2025. Acting on processed intelligence, NDLEA operatives allowed the courier to pass through airport checks under close surveillance until he reached the airport car park, where Ayedipe—who holds dual Nigerian-British citizenship—was waiting in an SUV along with two other accomplices, Shonowo Oluwaseun Imole and Ofuoma Omokaro Ayobami.
As the suspects attempted to drive out of the airport, NDLEA officers swooped in and arrested them with the drug consignment concealed in the vehicle. Preliminary investigations revealed that Alexander was recruited during a recent vacation and promised £1,300 for successful delivery of the illicit cargo in Lagos. Ayedipe, identified as the ringleader of the syndicate, reportedly arrived in Nigeria a day earlier from South Africa through Ghana.
A follow-up raid on their apartment in Lekki uncovered further evidence. Recovered from the location were N93,000, 17,200 South African Rand, N3,810,500 in cash, an Apple laptop, an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and four canisters of laughing gas (Nitrous Oxide).
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, and the Apapa Seaport, Lagos, intercepted a total of six million pills of opioids, including tamol, tapentadol, and carisoprodol, along with 332,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup. The intercepted consignments have a combined street value of N6.524 billion. The seizures were made between Monday 19th and Thursday 22nd May during joint examinations of containers by NDLEA, Nigeria Customs, and other security agencies.
Elsewhere across the country, NDLEA operatives continued their clampdown on illicit drug activities:
In Cross River, 75,000kg of cannabis was destroyed on 30 hectares of farmland at Esuk-Odot village, Odukpani LGA, with an additional 200kg recovered.
In Edo State, 1,957.5kg of cannabis was destroyed in Ohosu and Okhuse community forests.
In Nasarawa, 4,000kg of skunk concealed under wood was intercepted in Keffi, with suspects Sunday Daniel and Abu Peter arrested. Another suspect, Godwin Obi, was caught with 154.5kg in Karu.
In Kaduna, Bauchi, and Niger States, seizures included over 57,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam, 45kg of skunk, and 97kg of compressed cannabis sativa, respectively.
In Yobe State, 2kg of Colorado was intercepted from a suspect en route to Chad.
In Lagos, raids in Osapa London and Ibeju Lekki led to the arrest of Jonathan Isa and Olamilekan Idowu, with seizures including cocaine, methamphetamine, molly, rohypnol, cannabis, and nitrous oxide.
Meanwhile, the agency’s advocacy under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued with sensitization lectures held in schools across Katsina, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Adamawa, and Kano States. NDLEA’s Lagos Command also paid an advocacy visit to the Sarkin Fulani of Lagos, Alhaji Muhammadu Bambado.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency’s operatives in PHPC, MMIA, Apapa, Nasarawa, Cross River, Edo, Lagos, Niger, Kaduna, Yobe, and Bauchi for their commitment to both drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts.
