Consignments of illicit drugs concealed in frozen snails, electrical bulbs, and female clothes heading to the United States, United Kingdom, and Democratic Republic of Congo have been intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Lagos International Airport and a courier company in Lagos.
At least two suspects linked to attempts to export the illicit substances have already been taken into custody. One of them, a cargo agent, Boladale Riliwan, was arrested on 7th October 2025 following the discovery of 15 parcels of skunk, a strain of cannabis, concealed in 10 pieces of giant rechargeable electrical bulbs he presented in a carton for airfreight to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the export shed of the Lagos airport.
An NDLEA statement on Sunday said another suspect in custody is 48-year-old Olawale Oyebola Hakeemot, who is a UK-based Public Health Assistant. She was arrested on 12th October at the departure hall of Terminal 2 of the Lagos International Airport following the discovery of frozen snails used to conceal 2,300 pills of tramadol 225mg in her luggage while heading to Manchester, United Kingdom, on a Qatar Airways flight.
Attempt by another syndicate to export 810 pills of bromazepam hidden in female clothes going to the United States was also thwarted by NDLEA officers at a courier company in Lagos on 16th October.
In Adamawa, a suspect, Bello Buba, was intercepted at an NDLEA checkpoint in Namtari, Yola South LGA, with 38,270 pills of tramadol concealed in the spare tyre, boot, and door compartments of his Honda Civic car, which he drove all the way from Benin Republic to smuggle the consignment into Nigeria on 12th October.
ýThe statement said, not less than 53,250 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on 21.3 hectares of cannabis farm in Ilawe Ekiti, Ekiti state, with 70 bags of the same psychoactive substance weighing 1,140kg recovered by NDLEA operatives during an operation that lasted between Sunday, 12th, and Monday, 13th October.
Suspects arrested include: Matthew Emmanuel, James Moses, and Israel Samuel. This followed the destruction of 17,400kg of skunk on 6.96 hectares of plantation by NDLEA operatives at Aponmu forest reserve, Akure, Ondo state, on 12th October.
ýIn Oyo state, Aliyu Muhammed, Babarinde Segun, Ogunbiyi Sanjo, and Ajani Oluro were nabbed with 596kg of skunk at Apata-Ako, Igboora, while Jacob Afolabi and Salako Oluwatobi were arrested with 273kg of the same substance at Odo-Oyan, Igangan, on 16th October.
While Joseph Andrew was arrested in possession of 88kg of skunk on 15th October by NDLEA operatives at Ona – Imeko, Ogun state, another suspect, Festus Udoh, was nabbed with 13,000 pills of opioids along Onitsha- Owerri road, Imo state. In the same vein, a total of 74.5kg of skunk was recovered from the store of a suspect, Joseph Chukwujamaa, at Umuogbo-Agu village, Enugu state, on 18th October.
In Lagos, no fewer than 11 bags of skunk weighing 117kg were recovered from the base of a suspect, Ramoni Olukowi, in the Mushin area on Saturday, while a total of 80,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup were intercepted in a container earlier watch-listed by NDLEA coming from India during a joint examination of the shipment with men of the Customs service and other security agencies at the Apapa port on 14th October.
While commending the officers and men of the various Commands for the arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd) urged them and their colleagues across the country not to relent in their ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.