Abuja, July 6, 2025 – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 78-year-old man, Mike Abeng, with 14.49kg of skunk and tramadol in Ofudua, Obubra LGA in Cross River State.
Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA Spokesman, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
He said three others that were also arrested during the same operation included Oyom Akam, Sylvester Odem, and Moses Ayo, all apprehended in Ovonum, Obubra LGA.
The NDLEA has also intercepted consignments of cocaine concealed in lipsticks and property title documents.
It said 420 grams of cocaine were discovered factory-fitted in 84 pieces of female lipsticks destined for the UK, while another 280 grams of the same drug were hidden inside a property title document (Certificate of Occupancy) .
The drugs were recovered from cargoes being prepared for shipment to the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia respectively at a courier company in Lagos.
The statement also said a notorious drug kingpin, Ajetsibo Emami, popularly known as ‘Warri Kinsman, was arrested on June 28 in Lagos after a three-day operation led to the dismantling of his drug trafficking network and the arrest of three additional suspects.
The operation uncovered 24 jumbo bags containing 681 pouches of Canadian Loud, a potent cannabis strain, weighing 414.2 kilograms, hidden at a location in Ikeja. Intelligence had revealed Emami’s plan to transport the consignment to Lekki for distribution across Lagos and beyond.
The NDLEA said it had also arrested a businessman, Ajah Johnson Uchenna, his wife Rosemary Uchenna, and their daughters, Stella and Ngozi, along with a family friend, Okoro Elijah, after uncovering that the family ran a major drug distribution network in Lagos.
The couple was initially arrested on June 13 by the Department of State Security (DSS) in Ojo and handed over to NDLEA with 277.5kg of skunk.
While still in custody, further intelligence led to another raid at their home and storage facility on July 1 where 231kg of the same substance was recovered.
Three more suspects, Ngozi Uchenna, Blessing Uchenna, and Okoro Elijah, were arrested during the raid, found to be operating the family business in the couple’s absence.
NDLEA operatives at the Lagos International Airport on July 2, intercepted a frequent flyer, Aburemi Hysent, who specialises in conveying goods between Nigeria and Italy.
He had concealed 7,660 pills of tramadol (225mg and 200mg) inside food items packed for export. He confessed he was promised €800 for successful delivery.
The NDLEA also intercepted 52 pieces of travellers’ cheques worth AU$17.7 million concealed in children’s books heading for Malaysia via Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight.
A freight agent, Bolarinwa Saheed, was arrested in connection with the case.
The statement said suspect and the suspected counterfeit cheques would be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.
The NDLEA operatives at Seme border in Badagry also recovered 718 large balls of skunk weighing 359kg from a store in the Baba-Pupa area on Saturday.
In Osun State, two suspects, Agunbiade Folusho and Suleiman Dasola, were arrested in Ajegunle, Osogbo, with 13,901 pills and ampoules of various opioids, while another suspect, Adebayo Adewale, was apprehended at a patent medicine shop in Ile-Ife with 48,205 pills.
The NDLEA also intercepted another 10,000 pills of tramadol (225mg), co-codamol, and 1.050kg of Colorado (synthetic cannabis) along the Okene-Lokoja highway which led to the arrest of Chinedu Odo, Samuel Ogbonna, and Kingsley Ugaji at Jabi Park, Abuja.
The statement said a raid conducted by NDLEA operatives on a vulcaniser’s workshop at Akindeko junction, Alekuwodo, Osogbo, on July 1, led to the arrest of Wasiu Ajadi, Babatunde Jamiu Ojo, and Yusuf Sarafadeen, with 1,250 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 850 tramadol pills, and three bottles of codeine syrup.
NDLEA has also destroyed 24,175kg of skunk found on a 9.67-hectare cannabis farm in Oke-Ila forest, Osun State.
Seven suspects — Bunmi Adedapo, Adebisi Sodiq, Babatunde Gani, John Sunday, Israel Odabe, Solomon Odabe, and Prosper Odabe — were arrested during the 3rd July raid.
A consignment of 167kg of skunk was seized at Gamboru-Ngala in Borno State, while another 452kg was recovered at Gadar Tamburawa along the Zaria-Kano road.
Two suspects, Nasuru Saleh, and Mustapha Muhammad, were arrested in connected with the seizure.
In Edo State, a raid in Ewere forest, Owan West LGA, led to the arrest of a wanted suspect, Alaba Monday, with 115kg of processed skunk.
Three other suspects, Shamsu Abdullahi, Peter Egboko, and Justin John, were also arrested on another cannabis farm measuring 2.05 hectares.
