From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

The Loud consignment was part of a consolidated cargo that came in two tranches on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Based on credible intelligence, the cargo was subjected to thorough search during which 23 parcels of loud weighing 11.3kg concealed in new microwaves were recovered on Monday July 7,2025. A suspect Ezenwegbu Chike has been arrested in connection with the seizure.

Barely a week after a total of 420grams of cocaine factory fitted in 84 pieces of female lipsticks heading to the UK were seized at a courier company in Lagos, NDLEA operatives at the export shed of the Lagos airport have intercepted another consignment of cocaine built into ladies’ lipsticks as part of a cargo containing hair attachments, face powder, and other items heading to Malabo, Guinea.

No less than 400grams of cocaine and phenacetine, a cutting agent, were recovered from the lipsticks when dismantled while a businessman at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo,Lagos, Ezeikwelume Prince Afam was arrested on Friday July 11, in connection with the seizure.

Meanwhile, a  suspected notorious drug kingpin, Okechukwu Izugha (a.k.a Okey Omeogo) has been arrested in Lagos by operatives of a Special Operations Unit of NDLEA after 12 months of going into hiding. He was nabbed on Wednesday 9th July at his wife’s shop in Ijesha market.

Izugha came under NDLEA radar on August ,7,2024, after a 9kg cocaine was recovered from a suspect Obiora Joseph Agudosi at a motor park in Orile, Lagos, while going to deliver the consignment in the south East. Izugha was identified as the owner of the seized drug. In the course of investigating the kingpin and his network, his wife ,Maureen Izugha,was arrested with 500grams of cocaine at her beverages store in Ijesha market on January 21, 2025. She was thereafter arraigned in court, convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment. Unknown to him that NDLEA was still on his trail, the wanted kingpin came out of his hiding and was promptly arrested last Wednesday.

In Edo state, no fewer than 28,054.053 kilograms of skunk, a local strain of cannabis, were destroyed on three farms measuring over 11 hectares at Ewere Uzebba forest in Owan West local government area on Tuesday ,July 8, while 82kg of already processed cannabis was recovered from the location. The NDLEA operatives who went for the operation however, came under gun attack from armed members of the cartel on their way out of the forest. They were able to repel the attack and came out unhurt while one of their operational vehicles was riddled with bullets.

In Lagos, 1,400 compressed blocks of Ghana Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 700kg and a Ford delivery truck with  registration number:JJJ 698 YJ, were recovered at Okun -Ajah Beach, while two suspects: Innocent Ejidiobo and Friday Paul were nabbed along Ajah -Epe expressway by NDLEA operatives on Friday, July 11. Recovered from them include: 26kg Ghana Loud, 123grams of methamphetamine and 45grams of Molly as well as their delivery van with registration number AJK 191 LG.

While NDLEA operatives in Borno state on Saturday July 12,arrested Godwin Chimaobi Nwaobi, 42, with 18,759 ampoules of pentazocine, pills of tramadol and rohypnol at Njimtilo, Maiduguri, coming on the heels of the seizure of 10,000 pills of tramadol from another suspect Abdulrahman Bello Ahmadu, 34, on Wednesday 9th July, their counterparts in Gombe state recovered a total of 116,226 pills of tramadol and D-5 from five suspects: Hafiz Bello, 22; Isah Suleman, 48; Kabiru Muhammed, 30; Abdullahi Adamu, 30; and Abel Murna, 25, at Gombe main market and along Gombe-Kano road on Tuesday 8 and Saturday 12 July.

A suspect, Sabiu Bala was on Thursday  July 10, arrested along Okene-Lokoja expressway in Kogi state while conveying 316.600kg skunk, while another suspect Haladu Suleiman, 38, was nabbed by NDLEA operatives with 58.805kg of same substance in Gubuchi area of Ikara LGA, Kaduna state.

In Taraba state, three suspects: Auwal Ibrahim, 30; Lukman Ibrahim, 18 and Hamza Adamu, 25, were on Saturday, July 12,arrested by NDLEA officers at Lanka Viri checkpoint while conveying 577,890 pills of opioids and 1.160kg skunk concealed in tyre compartment of a petrol tanker with number :MUB 334 YH. The arrest of the trio on Tuesday  July 8, followed credible intelligence. Three other suspects: Shamsudini Abdullahi, 35; Adamu Abdullahi,21; and Magaji Rabo, 26, were nabbed with 48.1kg skunk at Janguza barracks area of Kano state by NDLEA operatives on Wednesday July 9.

The War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands equally continued across the country in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitization lecture delivered to students and staff of Word of Promise High School, Calabar, Cross River;

Government Girls Arabic Senior Secondary School, Indabo Wudil, Kano; Community Secondary School, Umundu, Enugu; Okemagba Senior High School, Epe, Lagos; Bishop Gideon Otubelu Memorial College, Ukpo, Anambra; and traditional rulers in Bende area of Abia state, among others.

While commending the officers and men of MMIA, SOU, Edo, Lagos, Taraba, Kano, Kogi, Gombe, Borno and kaduna Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.