- NDLEA operatives discovered drugs hidden inside frozen snails, bulbs, and women’s clothing headed to the U.S., U.K., and DRC.
- A Lagos cargo agent and a U.K.-based Public Health Assistant were arrested for attempting to export tramadol and skunk.
- Massive drug seizures were also made in Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Imo, and Enugu States.
- NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa praised officers and urged continued vigilance in the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA).
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered multiple attempts to smuggle illicit drugs out of Nigeria through creative concealment methods, including frozen snails, rechargeable bulbs, and women’s clothing.
The operations, carried out by NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and a courier company in Lagos, led to several arrests and seizures of banned substances.
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According to the agency, a cargo agent, Boladale Riliwan, was arrested on October 7 after 15 parcels of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, were found hidden inside ten giant rechargeable electrical bulbs bound for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In another operation on October 12, Olawale Oyebola Hakeemot, a 48-year-old U.K.-based Public Health Assistant, was apprehended at Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport after NDLEA officers discovered 2,300 tramadol 225mg tablets concealed in frozen snails in her luggage headed to Manchester.
Similarly, on October 16, the agency foiled an attempt to export 810 bromazepam pills wrapped inside female garments to the United States.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers intercepted Bello Buba at a checkpoint in Yola South with 38,270 tramadol tablets hidden inside his car’s spare tyre, boot, and door compartments. Investigations later revealed that the consignment originated from the Benin Republic.
The agency also carried out major drug eradication operations in Ekiti and Ondo States, where 53,250 kilograms of skunk cultivated on 21.3 hectares of farmland were destroyed, while an additional 1,140 kilograms were seized. Several young suspects, aged between 20 and 27, were arrested during the raid.
Similar crackdowns across Oyo, Ogun, Imo, and Enugu States led to more recoveries, including hundreds of kilograms of cannabis and thousands of opioid tablets.
In Lagos, NDLEA officers recovered 117 kilograms of skunk from a Mushin-based suspect, while 80,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup imported from India were intercepted at the Apapa Port during a joint operation with the Nigerian Customs Service.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers for their consistent performance and urged them to maintain vigilance.
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“Our balanced approach to drug control must be sustained across all commands,” Marwa stated.
Beyond enforcement, the agency continues to expand its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, reaching schools, workplaces, and communities nationwide to promote awareness and prevention.
