The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested three Ghanaian women at the Gbaji checkpoint near the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos State, for attempting to smuggle a combined 4.8 kilogrammes of Ghana Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, into Nigeria.

The Director of Media and Advocacy for the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday. He identified the suspects as Haziza Zubairu, Samirat Mustapha, and Jamila Salifu, who were apprehended by operatives of the agency on 20 April 2025.

In a related operation, NDLEA operatives raided a newly established 80-room hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, which was allegedly being used as a cover for the distribution of illicit substances.

After hours of thorough search, 589 bags of Canadian Loud cannabis weighing 417.3 kilogrammes were recovered, with a street value of N1,042,500,000. Three suspects?Eze Ayitu, Ofuokwu Samuel, and Emmanuel Ameh?were arrested during the operation conducted between 25 and 26 April 2025, while two others, Noble Philip and his accomplice Kenneth, remain at large.

Items suspected to be proceeds of illicit drug trade recovered from the premises, identified as The Hook Hotel (also known as Caesar Hotel and Caesar Lounge) at 16 Waziri Ibrahim Street, off Elsie Femi Pearse Street, Victoria Island, include a Toyota Prado Land Cruiser Jeep (Lagos AKD 472 OZ), a Toyota Sienna vehicle (Lagos KJA 79 HJ), a Volkswagen delivery van (Lagos AAA 525 JE), a Kia Cerato car (Lagos BDG 860 GQ), a Grand Caravan Dodge (Lagos APP 847 YF), 74 new television sets, 10 used television sets, and 13 refrigerators, among other items.

In Jigawa State, operatives seized large consignments of opioids being transported from Kano to Niger Republic and Yobe State. Acting on intelligence, NDLEA officers intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle (marked ABJ 182 NW) at about 2:30 am on 23 April along the Kano-Ringim road, Gumel town. Two suspects, Abba Ibrahim and Shuaibu Umar, were arrested with 200,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) and 217,500 capsules of pregabalin.

A swift follow-up operation in Kano led to the arrest of 41-year-old Jamilu Muhammad at his residence in Mil Tara, Layin Technical area of Kano. A further search uncovered an additional 1,584,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) concealed inside a Nissan 18-seater bus (marked DAL 372 XA) and a room in his house, bringing the total seizure to 2,001,500 pills.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) uncovered and intercepted several shipments of cocaine at courier firms in Lagos.

Barely a week after seizing 20 parcels of cocaine hidden inside religious books destined for Saudi Arabia, officers also intercepted another shipment on 23 April: 46 wraps of cocaine weighing 547 grammes hidden in body cream bound for the Middle East.

The same day, officers seized another consignment heading to Canada, comprising 1.8 kilogrammes of pentazocine injection and 60 grammes of bromazepam tablets.

In Kano, NDLEA operatives arrested a 60-year-old grandmother, Safiya Shamsu, on 25 April at Samegu area of Kumbotso LGA with 5.6 kilogrammes of skunk, while another suspect, Muntari Labaran, was apprehended at Yelwa area of Dala LGA with 100 litres of codeine syrup.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided two cannabis farms in Ugbodu community, Ovia North East LGA, on 24 April, destroying 3,814.9 kilogrammes of skunk and arresting three suspects: Samuel Samson, Daniel Peter, and Abel Edah.

Babafemi added that the agency?s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign continued nationwide throughout the past week.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), commended the officers and men of DOGI, and those of Lagos, Kano, Jigawa, Edo, and Seme Commands for their arrests and seizures. He also praised NDLEA commands across the country for maintaining a balance between drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts. (Sunday Tribune)

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