In a significant crackdown on drug trafficking, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has intercepted at least 66 parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, cleverly packaged as green tea, at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
The seizure, which was made on Thursday, June 5, 2025, was based on credible intelligence received prior to the consignment’s arrival at the airport’s cargo section on May 11, according to NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi said in a statement sent to Persecondnews on Sunday that the NDLEA had watch-listed the shipment, and sustained surveillance around it for over three weeks before inviting other stakeholders for a joint examination last Thursday.
According to him, the 62.20kg consignment of Loud was concealed inside wraps of green tea that had arrived from Thailand via the UAE on an Emirates Airlines flight.
The statement reads: “In a separate operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 1,665kg consignment of skunk, a cannabis strain, along the Lekki-Ajah Expressway on Monday, June 2. Two suspects, Gidado Abdulrasaq Ayinde and Obanla Oluwafemi, were promptly arrested in connection with the seizure.
“In Kaduna, operatives of the NDLEA state command arrested 29-year-old Goodluck Nnaemeka with 612 bottles of codeine-based syrup and 2,970 pills of flunitrazepam during a patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway on Tuesday, June 3.
“On the same day, a 52-year-old wanted drug dealer, Kabiru Musa, also known as KB, was arrested at Kurmin Mashi. A total of 25.7kg of skunk had previously been recovered from his base.
“In a separate operation, two young women, Favour Joy and Joy Igwe, were arrested on Tuesday, June 3, at Ikpoba Hill area of Benin City. They were driving an Audi station wagon car marked AAA 975 XU, from which 9kg of Loud had been recovered from the spare tyre compartment.
“Further recovery from them included 106.57kg of skunk, 1kg of Loud, 800g of Colorado, and 302g of methamphetamine. The driver, Atari Israel, 45, was also apprehended along Auchi Road, Edo State.”
The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands also continued nationwide over the past week.
Some notable events included WADA sensitization lectures delivered to students and staff at several institutions, such as Sir Usman Nagogo College of Arabic and Islamic Studies in Katsina, Fountain of Knowledge International Academy in Abakaliki, Ebonyi, and Millennium High School in Egbeda, Lagos.
Additionally, the Zone 13 Command of the NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Amayanabo of Nembe Kingdom, Dr. Edmund Dakoru, Mingi Xii, in Nembe, Bayelsa State, among others.
The NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Retired Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the MMIA, Lagos, Kaduna, and Edo Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week.
He also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
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