Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have recovered illicit drug consignments worth over N1.04 billion following a major raid on an 80-room hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The agency said it seized 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 417.3 kilograms during the operation carried out between Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26, 2025.
In a statement on Sunday, the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that three suspects — Eze Ayitu, Ofuokwu Samuel, and Emmanuel Ameh — were arrested during the raid on the five-storey building housing The Hook Hotel, also known as Caesar Hotel and Caesar Lounge, located at 16 Waziri Ibrahim Street, off Elsie Femi Pearse Street, Victoria Island.
Babafemi further revealed that two suspects, Noble Philip and his associate Kenneth, are currently at large.
Items suspected to be proceeds of the illicit drug trade were also recovered from the premises. They include a Toyota Prado Land Cruiser Jeep (Lagos AKD 472 OZ), Toyota Sienna vehicle (Lagos KJA 79 HJ), Volkswagen Delivery Van (Lagos AAA 525 JE), Kia Ceranto Car (Lagos BDG 860 GQ), Grand Caravan Dodge (Lagos APP 847 YF), 74 new television sets, 10 used TVs, and 13 refrigerators, among others.
Similarly, in Jigawa State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a consignment of opioids en route to Niger Republic and Yobe State.
Acting on intelligence, officers intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle marked ABJ 182 NW at about 2:30am along the Kano-Ringim road in Gumel town on Wednesday, April 23.
Two suspects, Abba Ibrahim, 28, and Shuaibu Umar, 29, were arrested with 200,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) and 217,500 capsules of pregabalin.
A follow-up operation in Kano led to the arrest of 41-year-old supplier, Jamilu Muhammad, at his residence in Mil Tara, Layin Technical area.
Further searches uncovered an additional 1,584,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed inside a Nissan 18-seater bus and a room in his house, bringing the total seizure to 2,001,500 pills.
In another development, NDLEA operatives at a Lagos courier firm intercepted 46 wraps of cocaine weighing 547 grams concealed in body cream and destined for Saudi Arabia.
The seizure, made on April 23, came barely a week after 20 parcels of cocaine were discovered inside religious books intended for the same destination.
Other shipments intercepted on the same day include 1.8kg of pentazocine injection and 60 grams of bromazepam tablets bound for Canada.
At the Seme border area in Lagos, three Ghanaian women — Haziza Zubairu, 42; Samirat Mustapha, 43; and Jamila Salifu, 26 — were apprehended on Sunday, April 20, while attempting to smuggle a combined 4.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud into Nigeria.
Meanwhile, a 60-year-old woman, Safiya Shamsu, was arrested on April 25 in the Samegu area of Kumbotso Local Government Area, Kano State, with 5.6 kilograms of skunk.
Another suspect, Muntari Labaran, 35, was also arrested after 100 litres of codeine syrup were found with him in Yelwa area of Dala LGA.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided two cannabis farms in Ugbodu community, Ovia North East LGA, destroying 3,814.9 kilograms of skunk. Three suspects — Samuel Samson, 26; Daniel Peter, 20; and Abel Edah, 31 — were arrested during the operation on Thursday, April 24.
Reacting to the series of arrests and seizures, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised the efforts of officers across the Lagos, Kano, Jigawa, Edo, and Seme commands.
Marwa also commended personnel across the country for their commitment to balancing drug supply reduction with drug demand reduction initiatives.
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