Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have busted a drug syndicate that disguised cannabis as Christmas cookies and designer snacks for distribution across Lagos.
The syndicate, allegedly run by two men identified as Deji Adesanya and Olubiyi Majekodunmi, was dismantled following a raid on their apartment in the Lekki area of the state.
Naijaonpoint reports that the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said in a statement issued on Sunday, November 30, that the suspects created and operated a distribution network through a WhatsApp platform, where clients ordered various strains of Canadian Loud packaged in colourful sachets printed with festive snack labels.
According to him, the operation was carried out on Saturday, November 22, 2025, at Ojulari Street, Ikate, Lekki, where officers recovered a significant quantity of the designer drug packs alongside five kilograms of Loud.
In another operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested a 38-year-old suspected drug baron, Philip Ucheka, in the Ladipo area of Mushin on Thursday, November 27.
Ucheka was apprehended while taking delivery of 110 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 55.6 kilograms. The agency also seized three delivery vehicles believed to have been used for drug distribution.
The agency further recorded breakthroughs at courier companies in the state. Officials intercepted 100 grams of Loud sealed inside a teddy bear imported from Thailand on the same day.
Another operation on Friday, November 28, uncovered 548 capsules of tramadol concealed in bottles labelled as Vitamin C and magnesium, and scheduled for export to the United Kingdom.
NDLEA officers on patrol along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway also arrested a 55-year-old suspect, Wasiu Kareem, on Saturday, November 29. He was found with 8,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection, hundreds of bottles of codeine syrup and thousands of pills of tramadol and Co-codamol.
In Ondo State, a major raid on the Ipe forest in Akoko South-East on Monday, November 24, led to the arrest of seven suspects and the recovery of 3,077 kilograms of skunk.
The suspects, identified as John Ede, Ede Ndubuisi, Ikenna Abe, Eze Chukwuma, Maduabuchi Odo, Nnaji Chudubem and Gordge Okowor, were picked up from the forest hideout.
Further north, NDLEA officers arrested a 49-year-old man, Anthony Sylvester, along the Okene–Lokoja highway in Kogi State on Wednesday, November 26, after he was caught transporting 649 kilograms of skunk in a truck.
A related operation at the Seme border area of Lagos on Friday, November 28, saw the arrest of one Abubakar Shuaibu, 33, inside a warehouse at Ashipa, where 487 blocks of skunk weighing 243.5 kilograms were recovered.
In Kano, officers intercepted a suspect, Tsalha Alasan, on Monday, November 24, along the Zaria–Kano road with 137 kilograms of skunk. Three others, identified as Godspower Appeal, Ernest Upong and Godday Chukwudi, were arrested in Bauchi on Wednesday, November 26, with 322 blocks of skunk weighing 209 kilograms. A Toyota Highlander SUV used for conveying the drugs was also confiscated.
Another suspect, John Ekojo, 51, was arrested along the Abuja–Jos highway on Saturday, November 29, with 210.15 kilograms of skunk. Meanwhile, a couple, Abdullahi Abubakar, 45, and his wife, Jamila, 35, were intercepted along the Abuja–Kaduna highway with 725 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition hidden inside a sack of maize. A separate arrest at the Abuja–Kaduna tollgate on Friday, November 28, yielded an additional 400 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition from a 20-year-old suspect, Awwal Sabiu.
The NDLEA said its commands nationwide continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities.
Some beneficiaries of last week’s sensitisation drives include Government Junior Technical School, Kofar Kudu, Kano; Bright Eyes International School, Abakaliki; dock workers and clearing agents at Tincan Port, Lagos; Legacy International College, Nsukka; and Seatos School, Ikorodu.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) commended officers across DOGI, Lagos, Ondo, Oyo, Kogi, Kaduna, Kano, Seme and Bauchi Commands for their successful operations.
He urged them to maintain the agency’s “balanced approach to drug control efforts” and sustain the tempo of their field activities.
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