**Destroys 10,000kg cannabis farm in Ondo
By Florencemary Nwabueze
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency-NDLEA has arrested three suspects identified as Etim Effiong Eekpo, 29, Otobong Eyo Etukudoh, 33, and Kingsley Effiong John, 27, aboard a wooden boat allegedly conveying illicit drugs to fishing settlements in Cameroon following credible intelligence on friday 21st August 2026.
According to the agency's director of media and advocacy, mr. Femi Babafemi on Saturday, John was found with 20 grams of cocaine concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava flour, popularly known as fufu, as well as 435 grams of skunk. Eekpo was arrested with 1.120kg of skunk, while Etukudoh had 42.060kg of skunk in his possession. NDLEA said a combined 42.622kg of narcotics was recovered from the three suspects.
In another development, the agency also seized N4.4bn worth of loud from Apapa, Lekki Ports in what it described as its first-ever seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through Nigeria's maritime corridor.
According to the agency, two containers loaded at the Port of Laem Chabang in Thailand were intercepted at the Apapa Port and Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos. At Apapa, NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies jointly examined a container declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries. The container was found to contain 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud, packed in 54 cartons containing 2,181 sachets of 500 grams each.
At the Lekki Deep Sea Port, another container that had been placed on the NDLEA watchlist was examined on Wednesday, August 19. Four of seven pallets in the container were found to contain Thai Loud. The consignment consisted of 96 cartons containing 400 parcels with a combined weight of 400kg, while the remaining three pallets contained 798 rims of A4 paper, which had allegedly been used to conceal the drug consignment.
The combined street value of the two seizures was put at more than N4.4 billion.
The NDLEA also announce that operatives in Ondo State raided a cannabis farm at Ijare Forest in Ifedore Local Government Area.
The agency said that the operation followed an earlier arrest of three suspected cannabis planters at the location on August 16 and revealed that its operatives has destroyed 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of the forest.
Also, in Kwara State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Ogbomosho-Ilorin Expressway intercepted a Toyota Starlet without a registration number.
A search of the vehicle reportedly led to the recovery of 1.325kg of methamphetamine and quantities of cannabis sativa. A 22-year-old suspect, Muhammadu Usman, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
In Oyo State, NDLEA arrested a 65-year-old woman, Adebayo Kaosarat, in the Akobo-Ojurin area of Ibadan. The agency said she was found with a combination of substances weighing 4.68kg, including 1.795kg of Scottish Loud, 1.66kg of tramadol, 600 grams of codeine syrup, 125 grams of diazepam and 50 grams of flunitrazepam.
The agency also said that a raid on Hadeija Road in Kano on Monday, August 17, led to the arrest of 31-year-old Chibuzor Madueke, with 98 blocks of skunk weighing 73.3kg recovered from him.
Also, at Ashipa, near the Seme border in Lagos State, NDLEA operatives arrested three members of the same family identified as 52-year-old Nasiru Tijjani, 27-year-old Moshood Tijjani and 27-year-old Salami Tijjani, with 48kg of skunk.
The agency also intercepted three waybill packages containing 24,410 pills of tramadol capsules in the Federal Capital Territory. The packages were allegedly discovered inside a Hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba on Saturday, August 22.
According to the agency, follow-up operation in Niger State led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignment, 28-year-old Sunday Eze, in Kontagora. He was subsequently transferred to Abuja.
The agency also in another operation at Ita-Ogbolu in Akure North Local Government Area recovered 210kg of skunk and a Toyota Camry allegedly belonging to Sylvester Dibiagu Anthony, who the agency said was at large.
In Abia State, NDLEA officers raided the residence of 36-year-old Ikechukwu Anthony Iwuno at Umuobia Olokoro in Umuahia South Local Government Area on Thursday, August 20, and reportedly recovered 14.4kg of Loud, 2.3kg of Colorado, 386 grams of tramadol and 134 grams of Rohypnol.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Marwa (rtd) commended the officers and men of Ogun, Apapa, Lekki, Seme, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Abia and FCT Commands for the various successful operations. He enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.