Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have made several arrests and drug seizures across different states in Nigeria, including the discovery of cocaine hidden inside religious books meant for export to Saudi Arabia.
The drugs were found on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, during an inspection at a courier service in Lagos. According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, officers from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) detected 20 parcels of cocaine with a total weight of 500 grams cleverly hidden between the pages of 20 religious books.
In another operation at a separate courier company in Lagos the same day, five parcels of Loud — a highly potent cannabis strain — were found concealed in a carton shipped from the United States. The recovered cannabis weighed approximately 2.8 kilograms.
Further north in Kano State, NDLEA officers arrested a 22-year-old man identified as Muhammad Mohammed. He was caught transporting 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection along Bichi-Kano road, with the drugs taped to his thigh and private area. He was reportedly on his way to Katsina when he was intercepted on Sunday, April 13.
That same day, another suspect, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, aged 43, was arrested in the Rimin Kebe area of Nasarawa, Kano. He was found in possession of 68 blocks of skunk, a type of cannabis, weighing a total of 30 kilograms.
In Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, a raid was carried out on a house along Major General Isaiah Allison Street, Opolo. Officers recovered 557.2 kilograms of skunk, 5.6 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 29.8 grams of heroin. Four suspects — Sarimiye Suwa Kurtis, Roland Prosper, Sarimiye Tare Paul, and Fidelis Ugbesla — were taken into custody.
Meanwhile, a massive haul of 1,100 kilograms of skunk was intercepted in Lagos on Thursday, April 17, during a stop-and-search on a delivery van. The driver, Ismail Abdullahi, was arrested on the spot.
Another raid in Zaria, Kaduna State on Friday, April 18, led to the recovery of 31,950 tablets of tramadol and diazepam from the residence of a 30-year-old suspect, Ike Ani.
In Kebbi State, NDLEA officers discovered 97 kilograms of skunk stashed inside charcoal bags. The vehicle transporting it was coming from Malabil, Benin Republic. Three men — Abubakar Ibrahim, Mustapha Aliyu, and Bashar Lawali — were arrested.
In Anambra, a man named Okafor Marcel, 48, was apprehended with 11.5 kilograms of skunk at Abatete. Over in Osogbo, Osun State, a 27-year-old woman, Ajala Mercy, was found with 43 litres of a dangerous mixture known as skushi. The blend, containing cannabis, black currant, and opioids, was seized from her residence.
NDLEA operatives also raided two cannabis farms in the Egbeta forest, Edo State. A total of 3,717.8625 kilograms of cannabis spread across over 1.4 hectares was destroyed, and 136.5 kilograms of processed weed were recovered.
At Tincan Seaport in Lagos, officers arrested a suspect, Basorun Usman Kayode, who had been on the run for two years. His arrest is connected to a 2023 seizure involving 107 kilograms of Loud from Canada. Another man, Dauda Yakubu, was also arrested for distributing drugs around the port area.
