Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intensified their nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking, intercepting cocaine concealed in food flasks and cannabis hidden in snack packs, while arresting multiple suspects, including a Lagos-based fashion designer.
In a statement by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the agency disclosed that 12 parcels of cocaine weighing 2.8 kilogrammes were discovered at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. The illicit drugs, bound for the United Kingdom, were ingeniously hidden in the false bottoms of food flasks.
Two cargo agents—Ama Ufeim and Ogabi Akorede—were arrested at the point of interception, while further investigations led to the arrest of the alleged sender, freight forwarder Agoro Moninuola.
In a related operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted 2.9 kilogrammes of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, concealed in snack packs arriving from the United States. The consignment was linked to a 29-year-old fashion designer, Saheed Adegoke, who was later tracked and arrested in Lagos after initial arrests of clearing agents.
Beyond the airport seizures, the agency recorded major successes across several states. Along the Kaduna-Zaria highway, operatives intercepted a trailer transporting 847 kilogrammes of skunk, leading to the arrest of the driver.
In Cross River State, a joint operation destroyed 15,000 kilogrammes of cannabis cultivated on six hectares of farmland, while a suspect was arrested. Similarly, in Edo State, officers dismantled a cannabis camp and destroyed over 2,281 kilogrammes of the substance, arresting three suspects.
Additional seizures were recorded in Delta State, while in Lagos, operatives intercepted shipments of tramadol capsules and phenobarbital injections along the Mile 2–Badagry expressway, alongside another raid that recovered 95.8 kilogrammes of skunk from a building in Lagos Island.
Meanwhile, NDLEA has continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign across the country, conducting sensitisation programmes in schools, religious centres, and communities.
Commending the operatives, NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa, praised the agency’s balance between aggressive enforcement and preventive education, urging officers to sustain the momentum in tackling drug trafficking and abuse nationwide.
Michael Olugbode
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