US, UK, DRC-Bound Illicit Drug Consignments Intercepted in Frozen Snails, Electrical Bulbs

…As NDLEA Recovers 38,270 Tramadol Pills in Car Tyre, Door Compartments in Adamawa; Destroys 70,650kg Skunk in Ekiti, Ondo Forests

Consignments of illicit drugs concealed in frozen snails, electrical bulbs, and female clothes heading to the United States, United Kingdom, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) 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 the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the export shed of the Lagos airport.

Another suspect in custody, 48-year-old Olawale Oyebola Hakeemot, a UK-based Public Health Assistant, was arrested on Sunday, 12th October, at the departure hall of Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, 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.

An attempt by another syndicate to export 810 pills of bromazepam hidden in female clothes bound for the United States was also thwarted by NDLEA officers at a courier company in Lagos on Thursday, 16th October.

In Adamawa State, 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. He reportedly drove all the way from Benin Republic to smuggle the consignment into Nigeria on Sunday, 12th October.

Not less than 53,250 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on 21.3 hectares of a 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 (26), James Moses (27), and Israel Samuel (20).

This followed the destruction of 17,400kg of skunk on 6.96 hectares of plantation by NDLEA operatives at the Aponmu Forest Reserve, Akure, Ondo State, on Sunday, 12th October.

In Oyo State, Aliyu Muhammed (50), Babarinde Segun (32), Ogunbiyi Sanjo (30), and Ajani Oluro (30) were nabbed with 596kg of skunk at Apata-Ako, Igboora, while Jacob Afolabi (30) and Salako Oluwatobi (25) were arrested with 273kg of the same substance at Odo-Oyan, Igangan, on Thursday, 16th October.

Meanwhile, Joseph Andrew was arrested in possession of 88kg of skunk on Wednesday, 15th October, by NDLEA operatives at Ona-Imeko, Ogun State, while another suspect, Festus Udoh (42), was nabbed with 13,000 pills of opioids along the 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 Saturday, 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, 18th October, while a total of 80,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup were intercepted in a container earlier watch-listed by the NDLEA. The shipment, which came from India, was discovered during a joint examination with officers of the Customs Service and other security agencies at the Apapa Port on Tuesday, 14th October.

In like manner, commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities during the past week. These included WADA advocacy lectures to students and staff of Commercial Grammar School, Igogo-Ekiti; Junior Secondary Smart School, Kasarawa, Katsina; Government Technical College, Ahoada, Rivers; Government Girls Junior Secondary School, Yau Danzabuwa, Babura, Jigawa State; Attarbiyya Community College, Hotoro, Kano; Fuga Mixed Secondary School, Fuga, Edo State; St. Cyprian Special Science School, Nsukka, Enugu; and St. Peter’s College, Olomore, Abeokuta, Ogun State, among others.

While commending the officers and men of MMIA, Apapa, Lagos, Ekiti, Adamawa, Oyo, Enugu, Ogun, Ondo, and Imo Commands for the arrests and seizures, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged them and their colleagues across the country not to relent in their ongoing balanced approach to the Agency’s drug control efforts.

Femi Babafemi

Director, Media & Advocacy

NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja

Sunday, 19th October 2025