Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have foiled two major drug trafficking attempts, seizing cocaine and a cocktail of opioids concealed inside the cardboard walls of cartons labelled as containing cloths and other household items bound for the United Kingdom and Australia.
The seizures took place at a courier company in Lagos on Friday, 15th May 2026, during routine examination of export shipments. A total of 170 grammes of cocaine – sealed in cellophane parcels and buried within the corrugated walls of a carton of fabrics destined for Australia – was recovered. A second carton, headed for the UK, contained a range of opioids including 200 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 1,100 capsules of tramadol and 100 ampoules of promethazine injection.
Cannabis Farms Destroyed In Delta
In Delta state, NDLEA officers raided Ejeonu village in Ukwuani local government area on Sunday, 10th May, destroying 27,500 kilogrammes of skunk spread across 11 hectares of farmland. A further 22.9kg of the same substance was recovered, and a 52-year-old suspect, Ifeanyichukwu Peter, was arrested during a follow-up operation at Obiaruku.
A separate raid in Orogun village, Ughelli North LGA on Tuesday, 12th May, led to the destruction of 37,500kg of skunk on 15 hectares of farmland, with an additional 55.4kg recovered. The operation also resulted in the arrest of 30-year-old Godwin Vincent Osadera. Supported by soldiers, the NDLEA destroyed a total of 65,000kg of skunk across the two Delta operations.
Ammunition Hidden In Garri Intercepted
Elsewhere, 361kg of skunk was recovered and a suspect, Husaini Suleiman (42), arrested during a raid at Dan Magaji area of Zaria town, Kaduna state, on Wednesday, 13th May. On the same day, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna highway intercepted a large cache of military-grade ammunition: 1,989 rounds of RLA 7.62mm concealed inside fresh white cassava granules (locally known as garri).
The suspect, 35-year-old Abdullahi Hassan, was detained, and both he and the exhibits have been handed over to another security agency for further investigation.
‘Laced Cake’ Producer Nabbed In Abuja
In the Federal Capital Territory, operatives arrested a 29-year-old businessman, Ogadi Peter, on Monday, 11th May. He allegedly specialised in producing cakes and cookies laced with drugs for parties and social gatherings in Abuja. Following credible intelligence, he was traced to his home in the Life Camp area, where 800g of skunk and 2.70kg of drug-laced cookies were recovered.
Opioid Seizures In Ogun, Taraba And Oyo
In Ogun state, 181kg of skunk was recovered from suspect Aliyu Sani during a raid in the Ogere area on Wednesday, 13th May. In Taraba state, 27-year-old Sufiyanu Mohammed Misa was arrested on Thursday, 14th May along the Zaki-Biam road in Wukari LGA with 105,850 pills of opioids including tramadol, diazepam and exol-5.
In Oyo state, two suspects – Adeleke Olamide Aliyah (20) and Aloba Abdulazeez (25) – were arrested on Thursday, 14th May at Challenge II, Saki town, in connection with the seizure of 99 litres of skuchies. The following day, NDLEA officers destroyed 1,388.4kg of skunk on two farms during a raid on Ago forest in Orhionmwon LGA, Edo state.
Palm Oil Concealment In Kano
In Kano, a 25-litre jerry can of palm oil was found to contain 1.2kg of tramaking 225mg pills, recovered from Kofar Ruwa motor park on Monday, 11th May. On the same day, suspect Aminu Isa (35) was arrested in the Sabuwar Sharada area with 30.5kg of skunk.
WADA Awareness Campaigns Continue
The agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy activities also continued across the country over the past week. Sensitisation lectures were delivered to students and staff at The Apostolic Church Model College in Ibadan, the School of Health Technology in Lambata (Niger state), Yewa Junior High School (Agege, Lagos), Government Secondary School (Yardaje, Katsina), Igogo Commercial High School (Igogo Ekiti) and Government Girls Secondary School (Magwan, Kano), among others.
NDLEA Chief Praises Balanced Approach
Commenting on the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the officers and men of the DOGI, Delta, Kaduna, Oyo, Taraba, Kano, FCT and Edo commands for the arrests and seizures.
He also praised their counterparts across all commands for maintaining a fair balance between drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
