Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have dismantled a social media–based drug distribution network that packaged illicit substances as imported Christmas cookies and snacks, arresting two masterminds in Lagos.
The agency’s Director of Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
According to the NDLEA, the syndicate imported consignments of Canadian Loud—a potent strain of cannabis—alongside colourful designer sachets branded with cookie and snack labels. Investigators said the packaging was used to disguise retail quantities of the psychoactive substance, which the group sold through a WhatsApp distribution network.
Babafemi said: “NDLEA operatives have uncovered and dismantled a social media network used to distribute illicit substances packaged as imported Christmas cookies and snacks, with two masterminds arrested after a raid on their hideout in the Lekki area of Lagos.
“The drug syndicate, run by Deji Adesanya and Olubiyi Majekodunmi, imported consignments of Canadian Loud and a variety of designer sachets printed with pictures of cookies and snacks, which were used to package the drugs in retail quantities.
“Following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives raided their apartment on Ojulari Street, Ikate, Lekki, on Saturday, 22nd November 2025, recovering a large quantity of the designer sachets and 5kg of Loud.”
In a separate Lagos operation, operatives arrested 38-year-old drug kingpin Philip Ucheka in the Ladipo area of Mushin while he was taking delivery of 110 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 55.6kg. Three delivery vehicles used for distribution were also seized.
At a courier company in the state, officers intercepted 100 grams of Loud concealed inside a teddy bear imported from Thailand. In another operation at a logistics firm, 548 capsules of tramadol hidden in Vitamin C and magnesium bottles and headed for the United Kingdom were recovered.
In Oyo State, NDLEA officers arrested 55-year-old Wasiu Kareem along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway with 8,000 ampoules of pentazocine, 590 bottles of codeine syrup, 1,500 Co-codamol pills, and 9,900 tramadol capsules.
In Ondo State, seven suspects—John Ede, Ede Ndubuisi, Ikenna Abe, Eze Chukwuma, Maduabuchi Odo, Nnaji Chudubem, and George Okowor—were arrested during a raid on the Ipe forest in Akoko South-East, where 3,077kg of skunk was recovered.
In Kogi State, 49-year-old Anthony Sylvester was arrested along the Okene–Lokoja highway while transporting 649kg of skunk in a truck. A separate raid at Ashipa in the Seme border area of Badagry, Lagos, led to the arrest of 33-year-old Abubakar Shuaibu with 487 blocks of skunk weighing 243.5kg.
Along the Zaria–Kano Road in Kano, 47-year-old Tsalha Alasan was arrested with 137kg of skunk.
In Bauchi State, three suspects—Godspower Appeal (50), Ernest Upong (55), and Godday Chukwudi (38)—were arrested in Fanshanu village, Toro LGA, with 322 blocks of skunk weighing 209kg. Officers also seized a black Toyota Highlander (ABJ 533 EA) used for transporting the drugs.
In another operation, NDLEA officers arrested 51-year-old John Ekojo with 210.15kg of skunk along the Abuja–Jos highway. A couple—Abdullahi Abubakar, 45, and Jamila Abdullahi, 35—was intercepted on the Abuja–Kaduna highway with 725 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition concealed in a sack of maize. Additionally, 20-year-old Awwal Sabiu was arrested at the Abuja–Kaduna tollgate with 400 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition.
