The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Chinese businessman, Liang Tak You, and an 80-year-old woman, Grace Ekpeme, in a massive nationwide drug enforcement operation that uncovered large quantities of synthetic cannabis and other hard drugs concealed in food items and everyday materials.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, it was disclosed that Liang was apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Friday.
The Chinese national, who is naturalised and based in Malaysia, had arrived from Bangkok, Thailand, via Dubai on an Emirates Airlines flight. According to Babafemi, NDLEA operatives had been tracking him from his departure point and allowed him to clear immigration before arresting him as he exited the airport with two suitcases containing 50 parcels of Loud, a potent synthetic cannabis strain, weighing 26.10kg.
In a separate incident, 80-year-old Grace Ekpeme was arrested on Saturday at her residence on Edet-Nsa Street in Calabar South, Cross River State, where over 3kg of skunk was discovered. The arrest followed intelligence reports of her alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
Also in Lagos, a suspect named Chidi Agbafo was intercepted on Wednesday, July 23, along the Epe–Ajah Expressway while transporting 21.7kg of Colorado, some of which had been stuffed into moimoi sachets. He was also found with 3.8 litres of codeine-based syrup in a commercial bus headed for Warri and Oghara in Delta State.
At the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, a joint examination by NDLEA officers, customs personnel, and other security operatives on Friday, July 25, led to the discovery of 101kg of Canadian Loud.
The drugs were factory-packed in 202 tins of food labeled ‘Bean Salad Mix’ and concealed in two Toyota Sienna buses inside a container shipped from Canada.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna highway arrested one Usman Musa on Wednesday, July 23, with 71,000 pills of opioids including tramadol, diazepam, and Exol-5 while travelling in a commercial bus headed to Kano.
In Borno State, a 30-year-old woman, Binta Usman, was arrested at her residence in the Muna Moforo area of Maiduguri on the same day. A total of 30.1kg of skunk was recovered from her premises. A follow-up operation on Friday, July 25, led to the arrest of her alleged accomplice, Bala Abdullahi, in the same area.
On Saturday, July 26, NDLEA operatives raided a cannabis plantation in Bending Corner Forest, Idoani, Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, arresting three brothers—Nanna, Chizom, and Maxwell Ozirinye. During the operation, officers destroyed 2,500kg of skunk cultivated on a hectare of land and recovered 121.4kg of processed cannabis.
In Edo State, officers raided Asakpa Community in Benin City on July 23 and arrested a 26-year-old woman, Bright Sunday Okon. Various quantities of Colorado, Loud, Arizona, skunk, and methamphetamine were seized from her home.
In Keffi, Nasarawa State, officers recovered 105.4kg of skunk from an abandoned Honda car with the registration number ABC 204 KM. In Minna, Niger State, a suspect named Bashir Abdullahi was arrested on Monday, July 21, at Kasuwan Gwari with 6,400 pills of 225mg tramadol.
In Ogun State, a well-known drug dealer, Jamiu Omolaja, was arrested after fierce resistance from his gang. NDLEA operatives eventually seized 113kg of skunk from his hideout in Ifo on Thursday, July 24.
In Gombe State, on Saturday, July 26, officers arrested a suspect identified as Adamu Adamu, also known as “Dankyado,” along the Gombe–Bajoga road with 10,910 capsules of tramadol.
Similarly, operatives in Kogi State on Thursday, July 24, intercepted a consignment of skunk concealed in garri, dried scent leaves, and other food items along the Okene–Lokoja highway.
A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of a 27-year-old suspect, Kindness Bala, who had planned to smuggle the drugs to Katsina State and then to Qatar.
On Saturday, July 26, Kogi State Command also recovered 23,600 pills of tramadol, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection, and 700 grams of skunk from a truck at a motor park in the Ayingba area of the state.
In addition to enforcement, Babafemi noted that the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse campaign was actively ongoing across the country. Sensitisation lectures were conducted at Komu/Babaode High School in Oyo State, Beacon Christian Academy in Ebonyi State, Government Day Secondary School in Sokoto State, and Government Junior College in Agege, Lagos.
The Anambra State Command also paid advocacy visits to traditional rulers in Awka and Ukpo, including Obi Gibson Nwosu (Ezeuzu II) and Igwe Robert Eze (Okofia VI).
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers and commands across the country, including those at MMIA, Apapa, Lagos, Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Nasarawa, Borno, Niger, Ogun, Gombe, Kaduna, and Kogi.
He praised their efforts in balancing aggressive drug supply reduction with sensitisation and prevention efforts aimed at reducing demand across Nigeria.
