NDLEA Seizes Illicit Drugs at Lagos Airport, Arrests Two Suspects

By: Bayero Ade

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a shipment of “Loud,” a synthetic strain of cannabis, bound for the United Kingdom at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.

According to NAN, the consignment was concealed inside a duvet and intended for export via the airport’s cargo shed.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, confirmed the interception. The consignment contained six parcels of the psychoactive substance, weighing a total of 3.5 kilograms. Two individuals were arrested in connection with the shipment on January 21, after NDLEA officers discovered the drugs.

Austin Balogun, the main agent involved, revealed that he had been paid N700,000 for the operation. He used part of the money for export handling charges and spent the remainder on renting an apartment.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives raided a hideout in the Igbo Olumo area of Ikorodu, Lagos, where they arrested two more suspects and recovered seven liters of “skuchies,” a new psychoactive substance made from black currant, cannabis, and opioids. They also seized a range of firearms, including three locally made double-barrel rifles, one English-made pistol, and one locally made single-barrel rifle, along with cartridges and other weapons.

On January 19, another raid in the Akala area of Mushin led to the seizure of 47 kilograms of skunk, a cannabis strain, and 25.46 kilograms of Nitrous Oxide, commonly known as laughing gas.

In Ekiti State, NDLEA officers arrested 26-year-old Adepoju Taiwo on January 23, with 1.95 kilograms of Canadian Loud at Iworoko road, Ado-Ekiti. Additionally, in Kwara State, 50,000 pills of tramadol, weighing 36.56 kilograms, were recovered from a suspect identified as Saadu, arrested on January 22 in Moro local government area.

In Kano, three suspects, including a 45-year-old Nigerien named Abubakar Lami, were apprehended in Gadar Tamburawa with 13.1 kilograms of skunk and 125 liters of “suck and die,” another psychoactive substance. Another operation in the Dawakin Kudu council area led to the discovery and destruction of a cannabis plantation, and a suspect linked to the farm was arrested.