The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted cocaine concealed in edible cassava flour, popularly known as fufu, and seized consignments of Loud, a synthetic cannabis, worth over N4.4 billion at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos.
The agency also intercepted 42.622kg of illicit drugs being conveyed by a wooden boat to fishing settlements in the Republic of Cameroon and made several arrests across the country.
In Akwa Ibom State, NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence, intercepted the boat on the high seas on Friday, August 21, 2026.
Three suspects arrested on board the boat, which was heading to Ine Isu, Ine Mbah and Ine Ikot Itie Udung fishing ports in Cameroon, were identified as Etima Effiong Eekpo, 29; Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, 33; and Kingsley Effiong John, 27.
Eekpo was found with 1.120kg of skunk, while Etukudoh had 42.060kg of skunk in his possession. John was arrested with 20 grammes of cocaine cleverly concealed inside a large wrap of fufu, alongside 435 grammes of skunk.
The NDLEA said the operation yielded a total of 42.622kg of narcotics.
Meanwhile, the agency recorded what it described as its first-ever seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through the maritime corridor, following the interception of two containers of cannabis indica, also known as Loud, at the Apapa and Lekki ports.
The two consignments, both loaded at the Port of Laem Chabang, Thailand, had a combined street value of over N4.4 billion.
The NDLEA said the seizures indicated the emergence of a new trafficking route being exploited by drug syndicates to smuggle synthetic cannabis into Nigeria.
At the Apapa Port, a container declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries was subjected to a joint examination by NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies on Friday.
The examination led to the discovery of 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud packed in 54 cartons containing 2,181 sachets of 500 grammes each.
At the Lekki Deep Sea Port, another container placed on the NDLEA’s watchlist and monitored by its Marine Special Operations Unit was jointly examined on Wednesday, August 19.
Four of the seven pallets wrapped in black nylon were found to contain Thai Loud. The consignment comprised 96 cartons containing 400 parcels weighing 400kg. The remaining three pallets contained 798 rims of A4 paper, which had allegedly been used as cover for the drug consignment.
In the Federal Capital Territory, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, August 22, intercepted three waybill packages containing 24,410 pills of tramadol capsules inside a Hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba. A follow-up operation in Niger State led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignment, 28-year-old Sunday Eze, in Kontagora. He was subsequently transferred to Abuja.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Ogbomosho-Ilorin Expressway on Friday intercepted a Toyota Starlet without a registration number. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 1.325kg of methamphetamine wrapped in black nylon bags, alongside quantities of cannabis sativa. A 22-year-old suspect, Muhammadu Usman, was arrested.
Similarly, a raid at Hadeija Road, Kano, on Monday, August 17, led to the arrest of 31-year-old Chibuzor Madueke, from whom 98 blocks of skunk weighing 73.3kg were recovered.
At Seme, in the Badagry area of Lagos, three members of the same family — Nasiru Tijjani, 52; Moshood Tijjani, 27; and Salami Tijjani, 27 — were arrested at Ashipa, near the Seme border, with 48kg of skunk.
In Abia State, NDLEA officers raided the residence of 36-year-old Ikechukwu Anthony Iwuno at Umuobia Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area, on Thursday, August 20. The operation resulted in the recovery of 14.4kg of Loud, 2.3kg of Colorado, 386 grammes of tramadol and 134 grammes of rohypnol.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency said its commands and formations continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
The activities included enlightenment lectures at Umar Bn Khattab College for Islamic Studies, Ungogo Local Government Area, Kano; Markaz Al-Furqan Centre of Islamic and Arabic Teaching, Kishi, Oyo State; School of Nursing and Midwifery, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State; Mu’assasah Tahfizui Qur’an Islamiya School, Ibi, Taraba State; and the Scout Association of Nigeria’s first National Youth Camp in Benin City, Edo State.
The Idiroko Special Area Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Chairman of Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, Johnson Avoseh.
Commending officers and men of the Commands for the operations, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
Marwa called for continued enforcement alongside prevention, sensitisation and other measures aimed at addressing the drug problem.
