THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced the interception of 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, valued at N1,042,500,000 in street price during a raid on a hotel in Lagos.
The agency revealed that the drugs, weighing a total of 417.3 kilograms, were confiscated during an operation at an 80-room hotel located in Victoria Island, which was allegedly being used as a cover for drug distribution activities.
During the operation, conducted between Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26, 2025, three individuals were arrested, while two others remain at large.
According to a statement from NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, several items suspected to be proceeds from the drug trade were also recovered from the hotel.
These included a Toyota Prado Land Cruiser SUV, a Toyota Sienna, a Volkswagen Delivery Van, a Kia Cerato, a Grand Caravan Dodge, 74 new television sets, 10 used TVs, 13 refrigerators, among others.
Additionally, the NDLEA reported intercepting more than two million tramadol pills across operations in Kano and Jigawa states.
The agency explained that, acting on intelligence, its operatives seized opioid consignments on April 23, which were being transported from Kano to the Niger Republic and Yobe State via Jigawa.
During a patrol at around 2:30 am along the Kano-Ringim Road in Gumel town, officers intercepted a Toyota Sienna carrying 200,000 pills of 250mg tramadol and 217,500 capsules of pregabalin, leading to the arrest of two suspects.
A follow-up operation in Kano led to the arrest of the supplier at his residence in the Mil Tara, Layin Technical area, where an additional 1,584,000 tramadol pills hidden in a Nissan 18-seater bus and a room in his home were uncovered, bringing the total seizure to 2,001,500 pills.
Furthermore, on April 23, NDLEA officers intercepted 46 wraps of cocaine weighing 547 grams, concealed in body cream containers and destined for the Middle East, at a courier company in Lagos.
This seizure came just a week after officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) discovered 20 parcels of cocaine hidden inside religious books bound for Saudi Arabia at another logistics company in Lagos.
On the same day, the agency also intercepted a shipment containing 1.8 kilograms of pentazocine injection and 60 grams of bromazepam tablets heading to Canada.
In another operation, three Ghanaian women were arrested on April 20 at the Gbaji checkpoint near the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, while attempting to smuggle 4.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud cannabis into Nigeria.
Commending the efforts of the officers involved in the operations across Lagos, Kano, Jigawa, Edo, and Seme, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) praised their commitment to balancing drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts across the country.
