NDLEA Seizes Cocaine Concealed in Religious Books on Their Way to Saudi Arabia

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have made a series of high-profile interceptions and arrests across the country, including the discovery of cocaine concealed in religious books destined for Saudi Arabia and the arrest of a notorious drug supplier to armed bandits.

The Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) uncovered 500 grams of cocaine hidden in 20 parcels embedded within religious books during a routine cargo screening at a Lagos courier company on Tuesday, April 15. The illicit consignment was bound for Saudi Arabia.

At another courier facility on the same day, NDLEA officers seized five parcels of Loud— a potent strain of cannabis — weighing 2.8kg and concealed in a carton arriving from the United States.

In Kano State, operatives arrested 22-year-old Muhammad Mohammed, who was allegedly transporting 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection to bandits in Katsina. The substances were taped to his thigh and private part. The arrest was made along the Bichi-Kano Road on Sunday, April 13. Another suspect, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, 43, was apprehended the same day in the Research Rimin Kebe area with 68 blocks of cannabis (skunk) weighing 30kg.

A massive drug bust in Bayelsa State on Wednesday, April 16, led to the recovery of 557.2kg of skunk, 5.6kg of methamphetamine, and 29.8 grams of heroin from a residence in Opolo, Yenagoa. Four suspects — Sarimiye Suwa Kurtis (46), Roland Prosper (34), Sarimiye Tare Paul (45), and Fidelis Ugbesla (46) — were arrested.

In Lagos, 1.1 tonnes of cannabis were confiscated from a delivery van in Surulere, with the driver, Ismail Abdullahi, taken into custody. Meanwhile, in Kaduna, NDLEA stormed a drug hideout in Zaria on April 18, recovering 31,950 pills of tramadol (225mg) and diazepam from suspect Ike Ani, 30.

Officers in Kebbi, during a patrol along Bagudo Road on April 18, intercepted a vehicle loaded with charcoal from Benin Republic. Concealed within the sacks were 97kg of skunk. Three suspects — Abubakar Ibrahim (50), Mustapha Aliyu (32), and Bashar Lawali (28) — were arrested.

In Anambra, Okafor Marcel, 48, was apprehended with 11.5kg of cannabis in Abatete, while in Osogbo, Osun State, 27-year-old Ajala Mercy was arrested with 43 litres of skushi — a cocktail of cannabis, opioids, and blackcurrant — at her residence in Dada Estate.

The agency also raided two cannabis farms in Edo State’s Egbeta Forest, destroying over 3.7 tonnes of the substance and recovering 136.5kg of processed cannabis from the 1.4-hectare farmland.

At Tincan Port in Lagos, NDLEA finally arrested 40-year-old Basorun Usman Kayode, who had been on the run for two years over the 2023 seizure of 107kg of “Loud” imported from Canada. Another suspect, Dauda Yakubu, who distributes illicit drugs around the seaport, was also arrested on April 14.

Commending the operations, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised the agency’s operatives for “maintaining a fair balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts,” urging continued vigilance in the national fight against narcotics.