Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a shipment of cannabis, also known as “Loud,” concealed in a duvet and bound for the United Kingdom.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, confirmed that the consignment was seized at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday.
The NDLEA revealed that two suspects, Adakole Sunday and Austin Balogun, were arrested in connection with the shipment. The cannabis, weighing 3.5 kilograms, was found hidden inside the duvet.
In his statement, Balogun, the primary agent behind the shipment, admitted he was paid N700,000 to send the consignment to the UK. However, he claimed to have spent much of the money on export handling fees and rented an apartment with the remainder.
Babafemi also reported a successful raid in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, where a hideout linked to illicit drug activities was uncovered. During the operation, NDLEA officers seized seven litres of “skuchies”—a new psychoactive substance made from black currant, cannabis, and opioids—along with an array of weapons.
The suspects, Joseph Oluwasegun Adewale and Biodun Adelakun, were arrested at Igbo Olomu, Ikorodu, and the seized items included three locally-made double-barrel rifles, a double-barrel pistol, an English-made pistol, a single-barrel rifle, and several cartridges.
In another operation in the Akala area of Mushin, Lagos, on January 19, NDLEA officers seized 47kg of skunk (a potent strain of cannabis) and 25.46kg of Nitrous Oxide, commonly known as laughing gas.
The agency’s operations extended beyond Lagos, with several arrests across the country. On January 23, a 26-year-old suspect, Adepoju Taiwo, was arrested in Ekiti State with 1.95kg of Canadian Loud. On January 20, Auwal Sani was apprehended in the Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State, where 50,000 pills of tramadol (225mg), weighing 36.56kg, were recovered.
Further investigations led to the arrest of three suspects in Kano. Abubakar Lami, 45, along with Abba Sani, 35, and Auwal Aliyu, 32, were captured at Gadar Tamburawa in Kano, where NDLEA operatives seized 13.1kg of skunk and 125 litres of “suck and die,” another new psychoactive substance.
NDLEA intercepts UK-bound illicit drug consignment in duvet at Lagos airport, arrests 2
— NDLEA NIGERIA (@ndlea_nigeria) January 26, 2025
– Recovers skuchies, ‘suck and die’, opioids, assorted weapons in raids across Lagos, Ekiti, Kwara; destroys cannabis plantation in Kano
Read more at:https://t.co/2VoTYM9xoT@FemiBabafemi
Additionally, NDLEA officers discovered and destroyed a cannabis plantation in Gefen Kasa, Dawakin Kudu, Kano State, and arrested Sabo Ali Muhammad, 45, in connection with the farm.
NDLEA Chairman and CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd.), commended the officers involved in the operations, reiterating the agency’s dedication to combating drug trafficking and promoting drug abuse prevention nationwide.
