The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized a number of shipments of illicit drugs hidden in frozen snails, electric bulbs, and ladies’ clothes. The shipments were headed to the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the Democratic Republic of Congo prior to interception at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) and a courier company in Lagos.
A cargo handler, Boladale Riliwan, was arrested on October 7, 2025, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said, when 15 packets of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, were discovered hidden in ten large rechargeable electric bulbs heading for Congo.
In a simultaneous operation, a British public health assistant, Olawale Oyebola Hakeemot aged 48, was arrested on October 12 at MMIA Terminal 2. She was intercepted with 2,300 tramadol 225mg tablets concealed in frozen snails when she attempted to travel on a Qatar Airways flight to Manchester, United Kingdom.
Yet another syndicate’s intention to smuggle 810 bromazepam tablets hidden in ladies’ garments to the United States was foiled on October 16 at a Lagos courier company.
Adamawa State operatives stopped one Bello Buba at a Namtari checkpoint, Yola South, and seized 38,270 tramadol tablets hidden inside the spare tyre, boot, and door spaces of his Honda Civic, which he reportedly imported from Benin Republic with the intention of smuggling into Nigeria.
In the same vein, NDLEA officials in Oyo State apprehended six suspects Aliyu Muhammed (50), Babarinde Segun (32), Ogunbiyi Sanjo (30), Ajani Oluro (30), Jacob Afolabi (30), and Salako Oluwatobi (25) possessing a total of 869kg of skunk in Igboora and Igangan communities.
In Lagos, 11 bags of skunk amounting to 117kg were found in the hideout of one Ramoni Olukowi at the Mushin area on October 18.
The agency, in another major operation, seized a container at the Apapa Port containing 80,000 bottles of India-made codeine-containing syrup during a joint operation with the Nigeria Customs Service, another win for the agency’s intensified anti-narcotics war.
