NDLEA arrests real estate agent, grandma, others over 2.3-tonne drug haul

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted shipments of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis popularly known as Colos, concealed in cargoes from the United Kingdom, music speakers and loaves of bread, as operatives arrested several suspects and recovered more than 2.3 tonnes of assorted illicit drugs across eight states.

The agency disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

At the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, operatives intercepted 27 parcels of Colorado weighing 32.20kg in a consolidated cargo from the UK.

A real estate agent, Abideen Jide Salami, was arrested on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, after allegedly arriving to collect a luggage containing the drug using a secret code reportedly sent by his brother in the UK.

In a related operation, NDLEA operatives arrested Nurudeen Abiodun Kadiri, 44, who allegedly came to collect another UK shipment containing 12.25kg of Colorado.

The agency also recovered Colorado concealed in music speakers at two Lagos motor parks. At Maza Maza, a speaker containing three packs of the drug was intercepted during an operation targeting a consignment bound for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and ultimately Liberia.

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A tour agent, Ifeanyi Obed Augustine, 41, and the alleged owner of the consignment, Obasi Ugochuckwu, 46, were arrested during a sting operation at a nearby eatery.

At Iddo Motor Park, operatives arrested Ifeanyi Nwokolo Henry on Friday, September 11, while he allegedly attempted to dispatch 2.1kg of Colorado to Kano.

Major drug recoveries across states

In Kano, a raid at Sabon Gari led to the arrest of 20-year-old Saidu Adamu, who was found with 785,000 capsules of Pregabalin weighing 669.425kg.

Another suspect, Habibu Sabitu, 28, was arrested along the Zaria–Kano–Hadejia Road with 1,700 tablets of diazepam concealed in loaves of bread.

In Jos, Plateau State, NDLEA operatives arrested 51-year-old Chinedu Uzor at Katako Market with 157,100 capsules of tramadol.

In Delta State, separate operations in Ughelli and Asaba resulted in the seizure of pentazocine injections, codeine syrup, tramadol, diazepam, flunitrazepam and MDMA, with some of the drugs hidden in music speakers. Two suspects, Emeka Oji and Chukwuebuka Anedi, were arrested.

The agency continued its crackdown on cannabis cultivation in Edo State, destroying 4,832.56kg of skunk from farms in Usen, Igwe-Oke and Ogboha forests. A 39-year-old suspect, Sunday Segun, was arrested.

In Ondo State, officers recovered 186kg of skunk from the boot of a Toyota Avalon car along Oke-Iya, Ijoka Road, Akure. The consignment was allegedly intended for onward distribution in Jos. A 58-year-old suspect, Paul Ogbuwala, was arrested.

Other recoveries included 369.6kg of cannabis seized from Hannah Michael in Kaduna and 876kg recovered from four suspects, including 70-year-old Godwoman Gboriye, at Ovom, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

Commending the officers, NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) urged them to sustain efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks across airports, seaports, land borders and cannabis-growing communities