The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a social media–driven drug distribution network that packaged illicit substances as imported Christmas cookies and snacks. Two masterminds behind the syndicate were arrested after operatives raided their hideout in the Lekki area of Lagos.
NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said the syndicate imported Canadian Loud — a potent strain of cannabis — concealed in colourful designer sachets printed with images of cookies and snacks. He said the group distributed the drugs through a WhatsApp platform and had been under surveillance following credible intelligence.
According to him, NDLEA operatives stormed the syndicate’s apartment on Ojulari Street, Ikate, Lekki, on November 22, recovering 5kg of Loud and a large quantity of the disguised sachets.
In a separate operation on November 27, operatives arrested a 38-year-old drug kingpin at Ladipo, Mushin, Lagos, while he was taking delivery of 110 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 55.6kg. Three delivery vehicles were also seized.
At a Lagos courier firm, officers intercepted 100 grams of Loud concealed in a teddy bear imported from Thailand on November 27. Another logistics company, on November 28, yielded a consignment of 548 tramadol capsules hidden in bottles of Vitamin C and Magnesium and destined for the United Kingdom.
Babafemi further disclosed that NDLEA officers on patrol along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway on November 29 arrested a suspect with 8,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 590 bottles of codeine syrup, 1,500 Co-codamol pills, and 9,900 tramadol capsules.
He added that seven suspects were arrested on November 24 during a raid on the Ipe Forest in Akoko South-East, Ondo State, where operatives recovered 3,077kg of skunk. Another suspect was arrested on November 26 along the Okene–Lokoja Highway in Kogi State while conveying 649kg of the same substance.
At the Seme Special Area Command, NDLEA officers raided a warehouse at Ashipa in the Seme border area on November 28, arresting a suspect with 487 blocks of skunk weighing 243.5kg. In Kano, another suspect was intercepted along the Zaria–Kano Road with 137kg of skunk on November 24.
Similarly, operatives in Bauchi State arrested three suspects on November 26 at Fanshanu village, Toro Local Government Area, with 322 blocks of skunk weighing 209kg, while a black Toyota Highlander marked ABJ 533 EA used to convey the drugs was recovered.
Another suspect was arrested with 210.15kg of skunk along the Abuja–Jos Highway on November 29. In a related development, two suspects were arrested along the Abuja–Kaduna Highway with 725 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition hidden in a sack of maize. A separate suspect was caught with 400 rounds of the same ammunition at the Abuja–Kaduna tollgate on November 28.
