The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted various consignments of illicit drugs concealed in unusual items, including frozen snails, electrical bulbs, and female clothing, at a courier company in Lagos.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, revealed that two suspects linked to the attempted export have been arrested.
According to him, one of the suspects, a cargo agent, was arrested on October 7 after NDLEA officers discovered 15 parcels of cannabis (skunk) concealed inside 10 giant rechargeable bulbs meant for airfreight to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Another suspect, a 48-year-old UK-based public health assistant, was arrested on October 12 at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, while attempting to travel to Manchester, UK, with 2,300 pills of tramadol (225mg) hidden inside frozen snails.
Similarly, NDLEA officers thwarted another attempt to export 810 pills of bromazepam concealed in women’s clothing bound for the United States, at a Lagos courier company on October 16.
In Adamawa State, operatives intercepted a suspect at a checkpoint in Namtari, Yola South LGA, with 38,270 pills of tramadol hidden inside the spare tyre, boot, and door compartments of a Honda Civic driven from Benin Republic into Nigeria.
The agency also destroyed a 21.3-hectare cannabis farm in Ilawe-Ekiti, seizing 53,250kg of skunk and 70 bags of the same substance. Another 1,140kg was recovered during a two-day operation between October 12 and 13.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives eradicated 17,400kg of skunk cultivated on 6.96 hectares at Aponmu forest reserve in Akure.
Further arrests were made across Oyo, Ogun, Imo, Enugu, and Lagos states, with large quantities of skunk, opioids, and codeine-based syrup seized:
- 596kg in Igboora (Oyo),
- 273kg in Igangan (Oyo),
- 88kg in Imeko (Ogun),
- 13,000 opioid pills in Imo,
- 74.5kg in Enugu, and
- 117kg in Mushin (Lagos).
Additionally, 80,000 bottles of codeine syrup were intercepted at Apapa Port in a container previously watch-listed by the agency, following a joint operation with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security partners on October 14.
The NDLEA also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with sensitisation activities held across schools and communities in Ekiti, Katsina, Rivers, Jigawa, Kano, Edo, Enugu, and Ogun States.
Chairman of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the officers for their efforts, urging them to maintain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, prevention, and enforcement nationwide.
