Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have carried out a major operation in Victoria Island, Lagos, where they uncovered an illicit drug distribution hub disguised as a hotel.
After hours of thorough searches, the NDLEA recovered 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a highly potent strain of cannabis, weighing 417.3 kilograms. According to a statement released on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the seized drugs carry an estimated street value of ₦1,042,500,000.
During the operation, three suspects — Eze Ayitu, Ofuokwu Samuel, and Emmanuel Ameh — were arrested, while two others, identified as Noble Philip and his partner Kenneth, managed to evade capture and are currently on the run.
Items suspected to be proceeds of the illicit drug trade were also seized from the premises housing The Hook Hotel, also known as Caesar Hotel and Caesar Lounge, located at 16 Waziri Ibrahim Street, off Elsie Femi Pearse Street, Victoria Island. Among the recovered items were multiple vehicles, including a Toyota Prado Landcruiser Jeep, Toyota Sienna, Volkswagen Delivery Van, Kia Ceranto, Grand Caravan Dodge, 74 new TV sets, 10 used TV sets, 13 refrigerators, and other valuables.
In a separate operation in Jigawa State, with a follow-up in Kano, NDLEA officers intercepted consignments of opioids being transported from Kano to Niger Republic and Yobe State through Jigawa. The operation took place on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, when a Toyota Sienna vehicle marked ABJ 182 NW was stopped along the Kano-Ringim road in Gumel town. Two suspects, Abba Ibrahim, 28, and Shuaibu Umar, 29, were arrested. The operatives recovered 200,000 pills of tramadol 250mg and 217,500 capsules of pregabalin. A swift follow-up led to the arrest of the supplier, 41-year-old Jamilu Muhammad, at his residence in Mil Tara, Layin Technical area of Kano. An additional 1,584,000 pills of tramadol 250mg, hidden inside a Nissan 18-seater bus and a room in his house, were also recovered. In total, 2,001,500 pills of opioids were confiscated during the operation.
The NDLEA also disclosed that just a week after officers from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation intercepted 20 parcels of cocaine concealed inside religious books bound for Saudi Arabia, another significant bust was made. On Wednesday, April 23, 2025, operatives intercepted a shipment containing 46 wraps of cocaine, weighing 547 grams, concealed in body cream and destined for the Middle East. That same day, a separate consignment comprising 1.8 kilograms of pentazocine injection and 60 grams of bromazepam tablets, bound for Canada, was also intercepted at a courier service firm in Lagos.
Additionally, three Ghanaian women were apprehended on Sunday, April 20, 2025, at the Gbaji checkpoint in the Seme border area of Badagry, Lagos, while attempting to smuggle 4.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, into Nigeria. The suspects, Haziza Zubairu, 42, Samirat Mustapha, 43, and Jamila Salifu, 26, were immediately taken into custody.
In Kano State, a 60-year-old woman, Safiya Shamsu, was arrested on Friday, April 25, 2025, in the Samegu area of Kumbotso Local Government Area with 5.6 kilograms of skunk, a type of cannabis. Another suspect, Muntari Labaran, 35, was apprehended in Yelwa, Dala Local Government Area with 100 litres of codeine syrup.
Meanwhile, in Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided two cannabis farms in Ugbodu, Ovia North East Local Government Area on Thursday, April 24, 2025, destroying a total of 3,814.9 kilograms of skunk. Three suspects — Samuel Samson, 26, Daniel Peter, 20, and Abel Edah, 31 — were arrested during the operation.
The NDLEA reaffirmed its commitment to intensifying its war against drug trafficking across the country.
