Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered a secret laboratory used for producing Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, inside a residential building at Ajao Estate, Isolo, Lagos State.
The agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, noting that the laboratory’s owner, Stephen Kelechi Imoh (30), was arrested following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering on the local production of the psychoactive substance.
“Operatives of the NDLEA have uncovered a clandestine laboratory where Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, is being produced in a residential building at Ajao Estate, Isolo, Lagos,” Babafemi said. “Large quantities of freshly cooked Colos and precursor chemicals used in the production process were recovered, and the 30-year-old lab owner arrested.”
According to him, the discovery followed earlier interceptions of locally produced Colorado in March and May 2025, suggesting that the substance, previously imported into Nigeria, was now being manufactured domestically.
Recovered items from the laboratory include 16.2kg of freshly cooked Colos, 1.7kg of ADB-CHMNACA Cannabinol, 4.5kg of Potassium Carbonate, and 91 litres of Dibromobutane, all used in synthetic cannabis production.
In a separate operation in Mushin, Lagos, NDLEA officers arrested Afeez Salisu (28), alias Malu, and recovered 16 compressed blocks of Ghana Loud and several sachets and bottles of Colorado weighing 16.4kg.
Similarly, a 20-year-old music artist, Godspower George Osahenrumwen, popularly known as Steady Boy, was arrested while attempting to take delivery of 77.2kg of Loud cannabis concealed in three cartons of bathtubs imported from New York, United States.
The consignment, which arrived via a DHL flight at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, was traced to Steady Boy at his residence in Lekki, where he appeared to collect it on behalf of a syndicate that includes his manager, Zion Osazee Omigie (alias Zee Money), who is now on the run.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives intercepted 84,710 capsules of tramadol along the Abuja–Jos highway, arresting Musa Abdulkarim (27). Two days later, Hamza Musa (47) was caught with 32,946 bottles of Akuskura, while Saidu Nafiu (30) was nabbed with 131.5kg of skunk in Igabi LGA.
In Ogun State, three suspects — Seun Olaniyi (24), Rauf Asogba (28), and Ayinla Adeniyi (50) — were arrested in Abeokuta after being tracked from Benin Republic, with 1,779kg of skunk recovered from their bus.
In Bauchi, NDLEA officers arrested Jamilu Mustapha (46), a.k.a. Last Card, with 596.4kg of skunk, while in Kwara State, operatives seized 532,600 pills of Tramadol and Exol-5 from three suspects — Halilu Amiru, Rabiu Maikudi, and Ibrahim Mati — along the Oko-Olowo axis of Ilorin.
In Edo State, two Toyota Sienna buses carrying 1,455kg of skunk were intercepted in Uhunmwode LGA, while in Ondo State, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,829kg of skunk linked to Mrs. Ige Olarewaju (32) and arrested another suspect, Samuel Adebayo, with 737kg of the same substance in Akure.
In Badagry, Lagos, officers arrested Ige Oluwale (50) with 76.5 litres of “skuchies”, a cocktail of blackcurrant, cannabis, and opioids. In Taraba State, Musbahu Abdullahi (28) and Saleiman Ahmed (25) were caught transporting 30,370 pills of Tramadol and 177 grams of methamphetamine from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.
Babafemi reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to dismantling drug networks across the country, describing the Ajao Estate bust as “a major breakthrough in curbing the spread of synthetic cannabis in Nigeria.”
