The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Chinese businessman, an 80-year-old grandmother, and several other suspects in a sweeping nationwide anti-narcotics operation that resulted in the seizure of significant quantities of synthetic cannabis, opioids, and other illicit substances.
The operations, which spanned across multiple states between 21 and 26 July 2025, were disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja.
Among those apprehended was Liang Tak You, a Chinese national, arrested on Friday, 25 July, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives intercepted Liang upon arrival from Bangkok via Dubai on an Emirates flight. A thorough search of his luggage revealed 50 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of synthetic cannabis, weighing 26.1 kilograms.
In a separate operation in Calabar, Cross River State, 80-year-old Grace Ekpeme was arrested in the early hours of Saturday, 26 July, at her residence in Edet-Nsa with over 3 kilograms of cannabis.
Also in Lagos, on 23 July, operatives arrested Chidi Agbafo along the Epe-Ajah Expressway with 21.7 kilograms of Colorado cannabis, partially disguised in moimoi sachets, and 3.8 litres of codeine syrup. He was reportedly transporting the contraband to Warri and Oghara in Delta State.
At the Apapa Seaport, officers in a coordinated operation with Customs and other security agencies seized 101 kilograms of Canadian Loud, cleverly concealed in 202 tins of food labelled Bean Salad Mix. The shipment was hidden in two Toyota Sienna buses within a container that originated from Canada.
Along the Abuja-Kaduna highway, on 23 July, NDLEA operatives arrested Usman Musa, found travelling with 71,000 tablets of tramadol, diazepam, and Exol-5 en route to Kano in a commercial vehicle.
In Maiduguri, Borno State, Binta Usman was apprehended on 23 July with 30.1 kilograms of cannabis, and a follow-up raid led to the arrest of her alleged accomplice, Bala Abdullahi, on 25 July.
In Ondo State, a raid at Bending Corner Forest, Idoani, in Ose LGA, resulted in the arrest of three brothers—Nanna, Chizom, and Maxwell Ozirinye—and the destruction of a cannabis farm. Operatives destroyed approximately 2,500 kilograms of live cannabis plants and recovered 121.4 kilograms of processed cannabis.
In Edo State, a raid on Asakpa community in Benin City on 23 July led to the arrest of Bright Sunday Okon (26), with various strains of illicit drugs including Colorado, Loud, Arizona, Skunk, and Methamphetamine recovered.
Other notable seizures and arrests include:
105.4kg of skunk from an abandoned vehicle in Keffi, Nasarawa State;
6,400 tramadol tablets from Bashir Abdullahi in Minna, Niger State;
113kg of cannabis from the base of Jamiu Omolaja in Ifo, Ogun State;
10,910 tramadol capsules from Adamu Adamu along the Gombe-Bajoga road.
In Kogi State, a consignment of skunk concealed in food items was intercepted, leading to the arrest of Kindness Bala (27) in Abuja, who reportedly planned to travel to Katsina and subsequently to Qatar.
Additionally, 23,600 tramadol tablets, 300 ampoules of pentazocine, and 700 grams of cannabis were recovered from a truck in Ayingba, Kogi State.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency’s commands across Lagos, Cross River, Ondo, Edo, Borno, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Gombe, Kaduna, and Kogi States for their relentless efforts. He further praised the operatives for sustaining a strategic balance between supply reduction and demand control in the national war on drugs.
