The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of a wanted drug baron, Frank Chijioke Ibemesi, alias Chisco Bee, following weeks of intensive intelligence gathering and surveillance by its Special Operations Unit. Ibemesi, who operated under the guise of a businessman and hotelier, is the MD/CEO of Franc CJ Ibemesi Nig Ltd.

According to a statement released by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director, Media & Advocacy, the 42-year-old Ibemesi was apprehended in the early hours of Saturday, November 15, at his Daisy Garden Hotel, located at 66-68 Agbeke street, Ago palace way, Isolo, Lagos. Following his arrest, operatives escorted him to his warehouse at 7 Pius Ezeobi street off Ago palace way, Isolo, where they recovered a significant cache of illicit substances. This included 42 jumbo bags and four cartons of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing a total of 1,762.8 kilograms. Additionally, cash in various foreign currencies was seized at the point of arrest, amounting to $11,600 US dollars, £2,000 British Pounds, €2,200 Euros, and 50 Canadian dollars.

In a separate major operation on Tuesday, November 11, NDLEA operatives successfully thwarted an attempt by a drug syndicate to load and distribute large quantities of processed skunk, another strain of cannabis, from the Orita-Apeje, Araromi-Okeodo forest reserve in Ife South Local Government Area, Osun State. After days of meticulous surveillance in the forest, agents intercepted a total of 11,135 kilograms of skunk. Two trucks used for transporting the illicit consignments, a Volvo truck marked WWR 29 XA and a Mercedes truck with registration number AWK 713 YZ, were seized, and seven suspects were taken into custody. Those arrested in connection with this seizure were identified as Lucky Abiodun, Julius Amos, Victor Ngbikili, Sunday Oduegwu, Ibrahim Akanni, Eze Godstime, and Fred Ifeanyichukwu.

Further operations across parts of Edo State yielded a total recovery of 1,902.1 kilograms of skunk. On Thursday, November 13, 184.1kg was recovered along a bush path at Oza/Igbanke road, Igbanke, in Orhionmwon LGA. The following day, Friday, November 14, 672kg was evacuated from Utese forest, Ovia North East LGA. Also on Friday, 494kg of skunk was recovered from a Mercedes Benz car marked DE311BEN along the Benin-Akure road, leading to the arrest of suspect Felix Edah, 45. In a related incident, Lucky Abagha, 51, was nabbed in another Mercedes Benz car marked JJJ 56 JW, which was found conveying 552kg of the substance.

Operations in other states also saw significant successes. In Ogun State, four suspects—Micheal Okoh, Offor Agada, Raphael Nkemjika, and Nwabueze Franklin—were arrested along the Ijebu-Ode expressway with 68kg of skunk and 3.150kg of methamphetamine. In Taraba State, on Friday, November 14, Danjuma Tukura, 50, was apprehended with 172kg of skunk at Sunkani area of Ardo Kola LGA, while Wisdom Titus, 24, was found with 84kg of the same substance at Takum area.

Adamawa State operatives on Friday, November 14, recovered 396,000 capsules of tramadol from a suspect, Ahmed Isyaku Nda, 50, at Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola. Concurrently, 785kg of skunk was evacuated from the warehouse of a drug dealer, who is currently at large, at Asob Maraba Karu, Nasarawa State. Lagos State also saw more arrests, with Jamiu Kunle Kardoso and Oriyomi Waliu apprehended on Friday, November 14, in the Surulere area with 130 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 65.150kg. On the same day, Taofeek Moraina was nabbed at Otto, Oyingbo area, with 282 blocks of Ghana Loud, totaling 141kg.

In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives on Thursday, November 13, intercepted a truck marked T-0262KT along the Ilorin–Jebba expressway, conveying 197 blocks of skunk weighing 78.565kg, alongside 155 cartons of rubber solutions. The truck driver, Umar Yakubu, was taken into custody. In a separate operation on Wednesday, November 12, a commercial bus with registration number KJA-657CY was intercepted at Eiyenkonrin, Ilorin, where 20 blocks of skunk concealed in a 50-litre jerry can were recovered, leading to the arrest of the driver, Ibrahim Bello.

Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retired), Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, commended the officers and men of the Special Operations Unit, as well as the Osun, Lagos, Edo, Ogun, Taraba, Adamawa, Nasarawa, and Kwara Commands for their exceptional arrests and seizures. He further enjoined them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain the agency's balanced approach to drug control efforts, which includes ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in schools, worship centers, workplaces, and communities.