Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully intercepted a shipment of cannabis hidden inside a duvet at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos.
The illegal consignment, weighing 3.50 kilograms, was bound for the United Kingdom, according to a statement issued by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday.
The NDLEA disclosed that the operation, conducted on Tuesday, led to the arrest of two individuals linked to the shipment: Adakole Sunday and Austin Balogun.
In his statement, Babafemi noted, “Six parcels of the psychoactive substance with a gross weight of 3.50 kilograms were concealed inside the duvet.”
One of the suspects, Austin Balogun, reportedly admitted to being the agent who hired Adakole to assist with transporting the drugs. Balogun claimed he was paid ₦700,000 to handle the shipment but used a significant portion of the money for export handling fees and housing expenses.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives carried out a raid in the Igbo Olomu area of Ikorodu, Lagos, where they discovered a hideout used for producing illicit substances and storing weapons. Two suspects, Joseph Oluwasegun Adewale and Biodun Adelakun, were arrested during the operation.
The agency recovered seven liters of “skuchies,” a psychoactive mixture made from black currant, cannabis, and opioids. Additionally, several weapons, including locally-made rifles and pistols, were seized, along with cartridges and an iron-head axe.
Another operation in Mushin, Lagos, on January 19 led to the seizure of 47 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, and 25.46 kilograms of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas.
The crackdown extended beyond Lagos, with arrests and seizures reported in other states. In Ekiti, a 26-year-old suspect, Adepoju Taiwo, was caught with 1.95 kilograms of Canadian Loud on January 23. Similarly, in Kwara State, NDLEA officers arrested Auwal Sani on January 20 after discovering 50,000 pills of tramadol weighing 36.56 kilograms.
In Kano, three suspects were apprehended at Gadar Tamburawa while in possession of 13.1 kilograms of skunk and 125 liters of “suck and die,” another psychoactive substance. A separate operation in Dawakin Kudu Council Area uncovered a cannabis farm, leading to the arrest of Sabo Ali Muhammad, 45, who was linked to the plantation.
