ABUJA, Nigeria (Chatnewstv.com) — Nigeria’s drug enforcement agency says it has uncovered a social-media distribution ring that packaged cannabis as imported Christmas cookies, arresting two alleged masterminds after a raid in the Lekki area of Lagos.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said the suspects, identified as Deji Adesanya and Olubiyi Majekodunmi, imported Canadian “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, and used colorful designer sachets printed with pictures of cookies and snacks to sell the drug in small retail quantities.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said the syndicate operated “a full distribution network” through a WhatsApp platform.
“Following credible intelligence, our operatives raided their apartment where a large quantity of the designer sachets and 5 kilograms of Loud were recovered,” Babafemi said in a statement Sunday. The arrest took place on Nov. 22 at an apartment on Ojulari Street in the Ikate section of Lekki, he said.
In a separate operation in Lagos, officers arrested Philip Ucheka, 38, on Nov. 27 while he was taking delivery of 110 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 55.6 kilograms at the Ladipo area of Mushin. Three delivery vehicles were seized from him, according to the agency.
At a Lagos courier company, officers on Nov. 27 intercepted 100 grams of Loud hidden in a teddy bear shipped from Thailand. Another logistics firm yielded 548 Tramadol capsules concealed inside Vitamin C and magnesium bottles bound for the United Kingdom on Nov. 28.
NDLEA officers patrolling the Lagos–Ibadan expressway arrested Wasiu Kareem, 55, on Nov. 29 with 8,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 590 bottles of codeine syrup, 1,500 Co-codamol pills and 9,900 Tramadol capsules.
In Ondo state, a Nov. 24 raid at the Ipe forest in Akoko South East yielded 3,077 kilograms of skunk, the NDLEA said. Seven suspects — John Ede, Ede Ndubuisi, Ikenna Abe, Eze Chukwuma, Maduabuchi Odo, Nnaji Chudubem and Gorge Okowor — were arrested at the site.
The agency said officers in Kogi state arrested Anthony Sylvester, 49, on Nov. 26 with 649 kilograms of skunk in a truck along the Okene–Lokoja highway. At the Seme border area of Badagry in Lagos, operatives on Nov. 28 arrested Abubakar Shuaibu, 33, and recovered 487 blocks of skunk weighing 243.5 kilograms from a warehouse.
In Kano, NDLEA officers arrested Tsalha Alasan, 47, on Nov. 24 along the Zaria–Kano road with 137 kilograms of skunk. Three others — Godspower Appeal, 50; Ernest Upong, 55; and Godday Chukwudi, 38 — were detained on Nov. 26 with 322 blocks of skunk weighing 209 kilograms in Fanshanu village, Toro local government area of Bauchi state. A Toyota Highlander used for transport was also seized.
The agency said officers arrested John Ekojo, 51, with 210.15 kilograms of skunk on Nov. 29 along the Abuja–Jos highway.
A couple — Abdullahi Abubakar, 45, and Jamila Abdullahi, 35 — were arrested the same day along the Abuja–Kaduna highway with 725 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition hidden in a sack of maize. Another suspect, Awwal Sabiu, 20, was stopped at the Abuja–Kaduna tollgate on Nov. 28 with 400 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, the agency said.
Babafemi said NDLEA commands across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) outreach to schools, workplaces, religious centers and communities.
NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.) praised officers for “their balanced approach to drug control,” urging them to sustain the momentum.
