The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the interception of 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a potent cannabis strain, valued at N1,042,500,000 in street value during an operation at a hotel in Lagos.
The illicit drug, weighing a total of 417.3 kilograms, was seized at an 80-room hotel in Victoria Island, which the agency said was used as a front for distributing illegal substances.
During the operation, conducted between Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26, 2025, three individuals were arrested while two suspects remain at large.
According to a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, items suspected to be proceeds from the illicit drug trade were recovered from the hotel, including a Toyota Prado Landcruiser SUV, Toyota Sienna, Volkswagen Delivery Van, Kia Ceranto, Grand Caravan Dodge, 74 new TV sets, 10 used TV sets, and 13 refrigerators, among others.
It further revealed that the agency intercepted over two million pills of tramadol in Kano and Jigawa states.
The NDLEA explained that its operatives, acting on intelligence, on April 23 seized consignments of opioids being moved from Kano to the Niger Republic and Yobe State, through Jigawa.
It noted that the psychoactive substances were being moved in a Toyota Sienna vehicle at about 2:30 am along Kano- Ringim Road, Gumel town, when anti-narcotic officers on patrol intercepted them and arrested two suspects.
Recovered from the Sienna vehicle were 200,000 pills of 250mg of tramadol and 217,500 capsules of pregabalin.
“A swift follow up operation in Kano led to the arrest of the supplier at his residence located at Mil Tara, Layin Technical area of Kano, while additional 1,584,000 pills of 250mg of tramadol stacked inside a Nissan 18-seater bus and a room in his house were discovered and evacuated.
“This brings the total number of the recovered opioids to 2,001,500 pills,” the statement read in part.
According to the statement, another shipment of 46 wraps of cocaine weighing 547 grams hidden in body cream bound for the Middle East country, was intercepted at a courier firm in Lagos on April 23.
It said the seizure came barely a week after NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) uncovered 20 parcels of cocaine concealed inside religious books bound for Saudi Arabia at a logistics company in Lagos.
It also said another consignment intercepted the same day included 1.8kg pentazocine injection and 60 grams bromazepam tablets heading for Canada.
Babafemi also disclosed that three Ghanaian women were arrested on April 20 at the Gbaji checkpoint in the Seme border area of Badagry, Lagos, while attempting to smuggle 4.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud into Nigeria.
“While commending the officers and men of DOGI, Lagos, Kano, Jigawa, Edo and Seme commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts,” he added.
What you should know
The NDLEA’s sweeping operations across Lagos, Kano, Jigawa, and Seme have led to the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs, showcasing the agency’s intensified efforts against drug trafficking in Nigeria.
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