The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized illicit drug consignments valued at over ₦1 billion during a raid on a newly established hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, officers recovered 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 417.3 kilograms. The drugs were allegedly being distributed through the 80-room, five-storey hotel known as The Hook Hotel, also operating under the names Caesar Hotel and Caesar Lounge.
The operation, carried out between Friday and Saturday, led to the arrest of three suspects: Eze Ayitu, Ofuokwu Samuel, and Emmanuel Ameh. Two others, Noble Philip and a man identified as Kenneth, remain at large.
Babafemi said assets believed to be proceeds of the drug trade were also recovered from the hotel premises, including several vehicles — a Toyota Prado Land Cruiser, Toyota Sienna, Volkswagen Delivery Van, Kia Cerato, and Grand Caravan Dodge — along with 74 new and 10 used television sets, and 13 refrigerators.
In a separate operation in Jigawa State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a shipment of opioids en route to Niger Republic and Yobe State. Officers arrested two suspects, Abba Ibrahim, 28, and Shuaibu Umar, 29, after intercepting a Toyota Sienna carrying 200,000 pills of tramadol and 217,500 capsules of pregabalin. A follow-up operation in Kano led to the arrest of the supplier, Jamilu Muhammad, 41, and the seizure of an additional 1,584,000 pills of tramadol, bringing the total haul to over 2 million pills.
Meanwhile, NDLEA officers intercepted a shipment of 46 wraps of cocaine concealed in body cream destined for Saudi Arabia at a Lagos courier service. Another consignment containing 1.8 kilograms of pentazocine injection and 60 grams of bromazepam tablets heading to Canada was also seized.
At the Seme border in Lagos State, three Ghanaian women — Haziza Zubairu, 42; Samirat Mustapha, 43; and Jamila Salifu, 26 — were arrested for attempting to smuggle 4.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud into Nigeria.
In Kano, a 60-year-old grandmother, Safiya Shamsu, was arrested with 5.6 kilograms of skunk, while Muntari Labaran, 35, was apprehended with 100 litres of codeine syrup. In Edo State, NDLEA agents destroyed 3,814.9 kilograms of cannabis on two farms in Ugbodu community, Ovia North East LGA, arresting three suspects.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency’s officers across Lagos, Kano, Jigawa, Edo, and Seme commands for their relentless efforts in combating drug trafficking, emphasizing the balance between drug supply and demand reduction initiatives nationwide.
