The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled suspected international drug trafficking networks linking South Africa, Thailand and Nigeria, intercepting 25.05 kilogrammes of methamphetamine and 33.95 kilogrammes of cannabis at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The agency also arrested an American professional basketball player in connection with the cannabis shipment, uncovered an illegal firearms manufacturing factory in Kaduna State and seized several tonnes of illicit drugs in coordinated operations across six states.
The NDLEA disclosed that the operations exposed sophisticated drug concealment methods, cross-border trafficking networks and the growing links between illicit drug activities and violent crime.
In one of the major airport interceptions, operatives on Wednesday, November 11, arrested a 56-year-old Nigerian, identified as Omokan Isaac Babatope, whose real name was reportedly Chinedu Onwude, at the arrival hall of Terminal II of the Lagos airport.
A search of his two travelling boxes uncovered 25 parcels of a white crystalline substance weighing 25.05 kilogrammes, which tested positive for methamphetamine.
The drugs were allegedly concealed in assorted breakfast cereal packs and cereal-based food products in an attempt to evade security checks.
Investigations reportedly revealed that the suspect, who holds Nigerian and South African passports, had lived in South Africa for more than 24 years using an allegedly forged identity.
The NDLEA said he adopted the name Omokan Isaac Babatope after allegedly using fraudulent documents to gain entry into South Africa. He reportedly told investigators that a South Africa-based individual, identified as Obiora Okoye, contracted him to deliver the consignment to Nigeria for 20,000 South African rand.
In a separate operation at the airport on the same day, operatives arrested a 28-year-old American citizen, Greene Da’monte Khiree, over the importation of 33.95 kilogrammes of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, from Thailand.
The suspect reportedly arrived in Lagos aboard an Emirates Airline flight from Thailand through Dubai but attempted to leave the airport with only his carry-on luggage, abandoning two checked-in bags.
However, operatives who had placed him under surveillance apprehended him at the airport car park after observing his suspicious conduct.
A search of the bags, both bearing his name tag, led to the recovery of 32 parcels of Loud weighing 33.95 kilogrammes. A tracking device was also found in the luggage.
The suspect, a native of Savannah, Georgia, United States, reportedly claimed to have lived in Thailand since October 2025, where he played professional basketball, before travelling to Nigeria on holiday to establish networks for his basketball career.
The agency, however, said forensic examination of his mobile phone revealed information indicating his alleged knowledge of and involvement in the drug trafficking operation.
Beyond the airport interceptions, the agency recorded significant breakthroughs in Kaduna State, where operatives uncovered an illegal firearms manufacturing facility at Sabon Garin Kangin on November 9.
A 45-year-old suspect, Sagiru Musa, was arrested during the raid, while operatives recovered 17 locally fabricated Dane guns, two pistols, 25 Dane gun pipes and other materials allegedly used for manufacturing firearms.
In another operation along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, operatives on patrol at Jere arrested a 31-year-old woman, Tabara Dauda, on November 13, with 196 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition and N675,000 cash.
The Kaduna Command also arrested a 30-year-old man, Samson Chibuike Andebe, at Grace Land, Sabon Gari Local Government Area, with 3,840 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 2.5 kilogrammes.
Similarly, 499.3 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered from two suspects, Celestine Chime, 34, and Chibueze Christ, 36, following a raid on their hideout at Gonin-Gora on November 14.
In Lagos, operatives arrested a 33-year-old man, Taiwo Adebayo Aderoju, at Ebute Metta on November 10, with 119.71 kilogrammes of cannabis.
Another operation at Ajah on November 14 led to the recovery of 78.8 kilogrammes of cannabis, 2.5 litres of skuchies, 6.8 litres of codeine syrup, 23 grammes of Rohypnol, 478 grammes of tramadol, 10.6 kilogrammes of nitrous oxide and 714 grammes of pregabalin.
The substances were recovered from a silver Toyota Sienna allegedly abandoned by a suspect who fled upon sighting NDLEA operatives.
In Ondo State, two suspects, Victor William, 42, and Akeem Azeez, 27, were arrested at Olabi village bush on November 10 while allegedly preparing bags of cannabis for sale.
Their arrest led to the discovery of a storage facility containing 50 bags of cannabis weighing 560 kilogrammes.
A separate operation at a cannabis farm in Ipele Forest on November 13 resulted in the arrest of three suspects: Godwin Benson, 30; Muhammed Awwal, 34; and James Timothy, 18. Operatives recovered 122 kilogrammes of cannabis during the raid.
Delta State also recorded a major seizure when operatives arrested a 43-year-old woman, Esther Igba, at Alihame, Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area, on November 12, with 255.670 kilogrammes of cannabis and 1.5 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds.
Earlier, on November 10, a 25-year-old suspected drug distributor, Aaron Thomas, popularly known as Ibori, was arrested at Oguato, Ughelli South Local Government Area, following more than six months of surveillance.
The NDLEA described him as a major illicit drug distributor allegedly operating a notorious bush bar. Items recovered from him included 360 grammes of cannabis, 12.7 litres of codeine syrup, 500 grammes of tramadol 100mg, 90 grammes of tramadol 200mg, 215 grammes of swinol and 135 grammes of Molly, also known as MDMA.
In Osun State, operatives conducting a cannabis farm destruction exercise at Owena Forest Reserve arrested two suspects, Eze Chidiebere, 23, and Nwaoge Ugochukwu, 24, with 86 kilogrammes of cannabis.
Another operation in the forest reserve led to the arrest of a 40-year-old man, Ugwu Chukwuemeka, with 28 kilogrammes of dried cannabis and 21 kilogrammes of fresh cannabis leaves.
The agency subsequently destroyed his 0.855-hectare cannabis farm, estimated to contain 2,137.5 kilogrammes of the plant.
In Edo State, weeks of surveillance on suspected drug trafficking activities in Benin City culminated in a raid on Jamila Street, Ikpoba Hill, on November 10.
The operation led to the arrest of a 39-year-old woman, Blessing Chukwudi, with 22 compressed parcels of Loud weighing 14 kilogrammes, 65 grammes of Colorado and 73 grammes of methamphetamine.
Meanwhile, the agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign through engagements in schools, religious institutions and communities across the country.
Schools reached during the exercise included Poko Community Primary School, Poka, Epe, Lagos; Community Grammar School, Eyinni, Ibadan; Iganmode Grammar School, Ota; Presco High School, Abakaliki; Federal Government Girls College, Efon Alaye; Obasanjo Modern Primary School, Jos; and Government Girls Secondary School, Sabon Garin Gaidam, Kano.
The Ondo State Command also visited the Olu of Ilu Abo, Oba Olu Falae, to seek the support of traditional institutions in tackling drug abuse.
Commending officers and men of the affected commands, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), said the interception of methamphetamine concealed in breakfast cereal packs demonstrated that traffickers could not outsmart the agency through sophisticated concealment techniques.
He said the discovery of the illegal firearms factory in Kaduna further highlighted the relationship between illicit drug activities and violent crime.
Marwa urged officers nationwide to sustain the momentum in disrupting drug supply networks while intensifying public education and community-based interventions to reduce drug demand.
He stressed that effective drug control required a combination of intelligence-led enforcement, public sensitisation and sustained collaboration with communities to address both the trafficking and consumption of illicit substances.
