Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted cocaine consignments concealed in lipsticks and property title documents destined for the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, respectively.
The illicit drug consignments were recovered from cargoes being prepared for shipment at a courier company in Lagos on Thursday, 3rd July 2025, by NDLEA officers from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), attached to the logistics firm.
A total of 420 grams of cocaine, factory-fitted in 84 pieces of female lipsticks heading to the UK, were seized, while 280 grams of the same Class A drug were uncovered in a property title document (Certificate of Occupancy, C of O) being sent to Saudi Arabia.
A notorious drug kingpin, Ajetsibo Emami, popularly known as ‘Warri Kinsman’, was arrested on Saturday, 28th June, in Ikeja, Lagos, after NDLEA operatives dismantled his drug trafficking network in a three-day operation that led to the arrest of three other suspects. Recovered from Emami’s network were 24 jumbo bags containing 681 pouches of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 414.2 kilograms.
The bust followed credible intelligence about Emami’s plan to move the consignment to the Lekki area of Lagos for further distribution across the state and country.
A businessman, Ajah Johnson Uchenna, and his wife, Rosemary Uchenna, along with their two daughters—Stella and Ngozi Uchenna—and their family friend, Okoro Elijah, have been taken into custody after investigations revealed they were running a major illicit drug distribution network in Lagos.
The couple was initially arrested on Friday, 13th June, by Department of State Services (DSS) operatives in Ojo area and handed over to the NDLEA, along with 277.5 kg of skunk. While still in custody, further intelligence revealed that their drug business was still being operated from their residence.
This led to a raid on their home and storage facility on Tuesday, 1st July, during which 231 kg of the same substance was recovered. Three suspects—Ngozi Uchenna, Blessing Uchenna, and Okoro Elijah—were arrested during the raid while running the operation in the absence of the couple.
Meanwhile, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos, on Wednesday, 2nd July, NDLEA operatives intercepted a frequent flyer, Aburemi Hysent, who specializes in conveying goods for customers between Nigeria and Italy. He was found in possession of 7,660 pills of tramadol (225mg and 200mg) concealed inside food items. Hysent confessed that he was to be paid 800 euros upon successful delivery of the consignment in Italy.
In another operation at Lagos airport, 52 pieces of travelers’ cheques worth 17.7 million Australian dollars were intercepted on Friday, 4th July. The cheques were concealed in children’s books en route to Malaysia via Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight. A freight agent, Bolarinwa Saheed, was arrested and the case, suspected to involve counterfeit instruments, has been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.
Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives at Seme border, Badagry, on Saturday, 5th July, recovered 718 big balls of skunk weighing 359 kg from a store in the Baba-Pupa area. Similarly, operatives on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja highway intercepted 10,000 pills of tramadol 225mg and co-codamol, along with 1.050 kg of Colorado (a synthetic strain of cannabis). This led to the arrest of Chinedu Odo, Samuel Ogbonna, and Kingsley Ugaji at Jabi Park in Abuja during follow-up operations.
In Osun State, Agunbiade Folusho, 40, and Suleiman Dasola, 28, were arrested in Ajegunle, Osogbo, on Thursday, 3rd July, with 13,901 pills and ampoules of different opioids. Another suspect, Adebayo Adewale, 50, was arrested at a patent medicine shop on Arubidi Street, Ile-Ife, with 48,205 pills of opioids. A raid on a vulcanizer’s workshop at Akindeko Junction, Alekuwodo, Osogbo, on Tuesday, 1st July, led to the arrest of three suspects: Wasiu Ajadi, 45; Babatunde Jamiu Ojo, 35; and Yusuf Sarafadeen, 39, with 1,250 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 850 pills of tramadol, and three bottles of codeine-based syrup.
On 9.67 hectares of cannabis farmland at Ikaka, Oke-Ila forest, Osun State, NDLEA operatives destroyed 24,175 kilograms of skunk and arrested seven suspects: Bunmi Adedapo, 41; Adebisi Sodiq, 26; Babatunde Gani, 22; John Sunday, 30; Israel Odabe, 29; Solomon Odabe, 21; and Prosper Odabe, 23, on Thursday, 3rd July.
In Borno State, 167 kg of skunk was recovered in Gamboru-Ngala, while 452 kg was seized at Gadar Tamburawa along the Zaria-Kano road. Two suspects, Nasuru Saleh and Mustapha Muhammad, were arrested on Thursday, 3rd July.
NDLEA operatives patrolling the Abuja-Kaduna expressway recovered 11,000 pills of tramadol 225mg from Sule Ibrahim Sadiq, 30, on Thursday, 3rd July. In Sokoto, 62-year-old Joseph Onungene was arrested in connection with the seizure of 4,800 pills of tramadol 225mg.
In Kebbi State, NDLEA operatives raided Bakin Kasuwa Yauri base and seized 312 kg of skunk and 10,000 tabs of diazepam. Two suspects, Chigbo Okolo, 52, and Ishaku Musa, 28, were arrested on Saturday, 5th July, at Mallum in Ardo-Kola Local Government Area of Taraba State with 49,930 capsules of tramadol.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided the Ewere forest in Owan West LGA, arresting a wanted suspect, Alaba Monday, 49, on one of his cannabis farms, where 115 kg of processed skunk was recovered. Three other suspects—Shamsu Abdullahi, Peter Egboko, and Justin John—were also arrested in another farm measuring 2.05 hectares.
A 78-year-old suspect, Mike Abeng, was arrested with 14.49 kg of skunk and tramadol during a raid in Ofudua, Obubra LGA, Cross River State. Others arrested during the operation with varying quantities of illicit substances include Oyom Akam, 50; Sylvester Odem, 40; and Moses Ayo, 50, in Ovonum, Obubra LGA.
Meanwhile, the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy campaign continued across the country. Awareness lectures were delivered at Queen of Angel Secondary School, Mgbidi, Awgu, Enugu State; Divine Purpose College, Eyita, Ikorodu, Lagos; Al-Furqan College, Kankia, Katsina; and to residents of Gomari Binta Suga community, Maiduguri, Borno State, among others.
While commending the officers and men of the DOGI, MMIA, Lagos, Seme, Kogi, Osun, Borno, Kano, Edo, Kaduna, Cross River, Kebbi, and Taraba Commands for their arrests and seizures during the past week, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised all officers nationwide for balancing drug supply reduction with drug demand reduction efforts.
