The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested no fewer than 14 suspects in a sweeping series of operations, including the shocking discovery of cocaine concealed within religious books destined for Saudi Arabia.
In a statement released on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi revealed that the cocaine consignment, weighing 500 grams and divided into 20 parcels, was found on April 15, 2025, at a courier company in Lagos. Officers from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) were conducting routine checks on outbound cargo when they uncovered the illicit drugs hidden between the pages of the books.
That same day, at another Lagos courier firm, NDLEA operatives intercepted five parcels of “Loud” — a high-grade strain of cannabis — weighing 2.8kg, smuggled in from the United States.
In Kano, operatives apprehended 22-year-old Muhammad Mohammed on April 13 while he was en route to Katsina. He was caught with 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection strapped to his thighs and genitals. On the same day, another suspect, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz (43), was arrested with 30kg of cannabis in the Nasarawa area of Kano.
A major drug warehouse was also discovered in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on April 16. There, the agency seized 557.2kg of cannabis, 5.6kg of methamphetamine, and 29.8g of heroin. Four suspects — Sarimiye Suwa Kurtis (46), Roland Prosper (34), Sarimiye Tare Paul (45), and Fidelis Ugbesla (46) — were taken into custody.
In Lagos, 1.1 tonnes of cannabis were recovered from a delivery van in Surulere. The driver, identified as Ismail Abdullahi, was arrested. Meanwhile, in Kaduna, a raid on a drug den in Zaria on April 18 led to the recovery of 31,950 pills of tramadol (225mg) and diazepam from a 30-year-old suspect, Ike Ani.
In Kebbi, NDLEA officers intercepted a charcoal-laden vehicle from Benin Republic along Bagudo Road on April 18. Hidden in the sacks were 97kg of skunk. Three suspects — Abubakar Ibrahim (50), Mustapha Aliyu (32), and Bashar Lawali (28) — were arrested.
Elsewhere, in Anambra, 48-year-old Okafor Marcel was nabbed with 11.5kg of cannabis in Abatete. In Osun State, 27-year-old Ajala Mercy was arrested in her Dada Estate residence, Osogbo, with 43 litres of skushi — a locally brewed mix of cannabis, opioids, and blackcurrant.
In Edo State’s Egbeta Forest, NDLEA operatives raided two cannabis farms, destroying over 3.7 tonnes of the drug and seizing 136.5kg of processed cannabis from a 1.4-hectare plantation.
At Tincan Island Port in Lagos, the agency arrested 40-year-old Basorun Usman Kayode, who had been on the run for two years in connection with the 2023 seizure of 107kg of “Loud” imported from Canada. Another suspect, Dauda Yakubu, a known distributor of illicit drugs around the port, was also apprehended on April 14.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the operatives for their dedication and efficiency. He praised their efforts in balancing supply and demand reduction strategies and urged continued vigilance in the nation’s war against drug trafficking.
