Cocaine Bust at Lagos Airport – Fashion Designer, Others Arrested in NDLEA Crackdown

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted multiple illicit drug consignments, including cocaine and cannabis strains known as “Loud” and skunk, while arresting several suspects in coordinated operations across the country.
In a statement issued on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said operatives at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted 12 parcels of cocaine concealed in the false bottom of food flasks.
The consignment, weighing 2.80 kilograms, was bound for the United Kingdom aboard a Virgin Atlantic flight and was seized on April 16. Two cargo agents were initially arrested, while a 52-year-old freight forwarder identified as the sender was later apprehended in a follow-up operation.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the airport’s import shed on April 8 intercepted 2.90 kilograms of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, concealed in snack packs and flown in from the United States via a Delta Air Lines flight. Two clearing agents were first arrested, followed by the arrest of the consignee, a 29-year-old fashion designer, at his residence in Ogba, Lagos.
Outside Lagos, operatives on patrol along the Kaduna–Zaria highway intercepted a truck conveying cement but discovered 760 blocks and 33 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 847 kilograms. The driver was arrested.
In Cross River State, a 53-year-old woman was apprehended during a joint operation with security personnel in a forest in Uwet community, Akamkpa Local Government Area. NDLEA said 15,000 kilograms of skunk cultivated on six hectares of farmland were destroyed, with an additional 119 kilograms recovered.
Similarly, operatives raided a cannabis farm in Edo State, destroying 2,281.43 kilograms of the substance and arresting three suspects, while others were caught with smaller quantities in Delta State.
In Lagos, two suspects were arrested along the Mile 2–Badagry Expressway while transporting 11,900 capsules of tramadol and 400 ampoules of phenobarbital injections intended for Ghana. Another raid at a two-storey building on Lagos Island led to the recovery of 95.8 kilograms of skunk.
The agency also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign nationwide, conducting awareness programmes in schools, workplaces, and communities across several states.
Chairman of the NDLEA, Buba Marwa, commended officers across multiple state commands for the successful operations. He urged sustained momentum in both drug supply reduction and public sensitisation efforts.