Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
In a week of high-profile interdictions, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested three persons with disabilities (PWD) on drug trafficking charges, while simultaneously uncovering a massive cannabis haul worth an estimated N5.815billion (approximately £5.3million) in a Lekki mansion.
The agency said 60-year-old Romanus Nwabara was among those detained after operatives traced him to Akpaka Forest in Onitsha, Anambra state, on Wednesday 6th May. He was found with 250 grams of skunk packaged in retail sachets.
A day later, in Ogbunike, also in Anambra, officers arrested another PWD, 25-year-old Amos Kenneth, who was in possession of 160.3 grams of Tramadol (225mg and 100mg), 80 Diazepam pills, 38.23 grams of Exol 5, and 176.93 grams of skunk.
In Kwara state, Usman Salisu — a third PWD — was intercepted on Friday 8th May during a patrol along Bode Saadu. According to the NDLEA, Salisu had concealed 6.3 kilograms of skunk inside a brown school bag aboard a commercial vehicle.
Mansion Stash House
In a separate operation on the same Friday, the NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit raided a mansion at 36 African Lane, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos. Inside, they recovered 4,000 parcels of ‘Loud’ — a potent imported cannabis strain — weighing a total of 2,326 kilograms. The street value was put at over N5.815 billion.
Two Mercedes-Benz buses and various designer sachets used for retail packaging were also seized from the property. No arrest has yet been reported in connection with the Lekki stash house.
Illicit Factory Raid
Elsewhere, officers raided a makeshift ‘skuchies’ production factory in the Ijora Badia area of Lagos on Wednesday 6th May. Two suspects — Bose Jamiu and Gbenga Gege — were arrested in the act of cooking cannabis and mixing it with other prohibited substances. A total of 270 litres of ready-to-sell skuchies and 106 grams of Tramadol 225mg were recovered.
The agency also confirmed arrests in Nasarawa and Kogi states. On Monday 4th May, Emmanuel Osita Okeke, 38, was held in Nyanya Karu with 129kg of skunk. Days later, along the Okene-Lokoja highway, operatives intercepted a white commuter J5 bus heading to Abuja, uncovering 76 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 766kg and arresting three suspects: Mathew Omohove, Ebuka Desmond and Babangida Musa.
Balancing Enforcement With Education
The NDLEA said its commands continued nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities over the past week, visiting schools, places of worship, workplaces and communities — including Ta’al Model Secondary School, Lafia; Federal College of Education, Ilawe Ekiti; and traditional rulers in Udi LGA, Enugu, among others.
Commending operatives from the Special Operations Unit and the Anambra, Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa and Lagos commands, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), said: “Their drug supply reduction efforts, balanced with WADA sensitisation, are commendable.”
He charged all personnel across the country to maintain the current operational tempo.
