Marwa Commends Officers Efforts
By Abiola Olawale
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has revealed that its operatives successfully intercepted a shipment of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
The NDLEA said the illicit consignment was cleverly concealed within layers of duvets, expertly packaged to disguise its true nature as it was intended for export to the United Kingdom.
The seizure was made at the cargo shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, in a press statement issued on Sunday, revealed that the discovery, made on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, led to the arrest of two suspects who were identified as Adakole Sunday and Austin Balogun.
Babafemi, in the statement, further revealed that NDLEA operatives, in another operation, raided a hideout in the Igbo Olumo area of Ikorodu, Lagos, arresting Joseph Oluwasegun Adewale and Biodun Adelakun.
He added that during the operation, about seven liters of scrunchies—a psychoactive mixture of black currant, cannabis, and opioids—were recovered.
Other items seized included: Three locally double-barrel rifles, One locally double-barrel pistol, One English-made pistol, One locally single-barrel rifle, Three cartridges, An empty 9mm cartridge, and An iron-headed axe
According to Babafemi, a separate operation in Lagos’ Akala area, Mushin, on Sunday, January 19, resulted in the confiscation of 47kg of skunk (a potent cannabis strain) and 25.46kg of nitrous oxide (laughing gas).
In Ekiti State, NDLEA officers arrested Adepoju Taiwo, 26, on January 23, with 1.95kg of Canadian Loud on Iworoko Road, Ado-Ekiti.
In Kwara State, Auwal Sani was apprehended on January 20 in Bode Saadu, Moro LGA, with 50,000 tramadol pills (225mg) weighing 36.56kg.
Three suspects—Abubakar Lami (45), Abba Sani (35), and Auwal Aliyu (32)—were arrested in Gadar Tamburawa, Kano. Operatives recovered 13.1kg of skunk and 125 liters of suck and die, a new psychoactive substance.
In Gefen Kasa, Dawakin Kudu LGA, a cannabis plantation was discovered and destroyed. A suspect, Sabo Ali Muhammad, 45, was arrested in connection to the farm.
Babafemi noted that NDLEA continue unhindered with its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with sensitization programs across the country. Highlights include lectures in schools such as Army Children Secondary School, Oyo, Oyo State, Government Day Secondary School, Gwadangwaji, Kebbi State, St. Dominic Comprehensive College, Oron, Akwa Ibom State, District Junior College, Agege, Lagos, Pompomari community, and Damaturu, Yobe State
According to the statement, the NDLEA Chairman and CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers in Lagos, Kano, Kwara, and Ekiti for their arrests and seizures. He also praised their counterparts nationwide for intensifying WADA’s advocacy and sensitization efforts.
