Authorities in Nigeria have intercepted a major shipment of cannabis disguised as green tea at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, highlighting a growing trend in the smuggling of illicit drugs via commercial freight.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) revealed that a total of 66 parcels of “Loud”—a highly potent strain of cannabis—weighing 62.2 kilograms were discovered in the airport’s import shed. The contraband arrived on 11 May aboard an Emirates Airlines flight from Thailand, routed through the United Arab Emirates.
Following a tip-off, NDLEA officials placed the cargo under surveillance for more than three weeks before coordinating a joint examination with other agencies on Thursday, 5 June.
In a separate operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Monday, 2 June, intercepted a 1,665-kilogram haul of skunk, another cannabis variant, along the Lekki-Ajah expressway. Two suspects, identified as Gidado Abdulrasaq Ayinde and Obanla Oluwafemi, were arrested in connection with the seizure.
Further arrests took place in Kaduna State on Tuesday, 3 June. NDLEA personnel patrolling the Abuja-Kaduna expressway apprehended 29-year-old Goodluck Nnaemeka, who was found in possession of 612 bottles of codeine-based syrup and nearly 3,000 flunitrazepam pills—a sedative often misused recreationally. That same day, authorities also detained 52-year-old Kabiru Musa, a known drug trafficker, in the Kurmin Mashi area. His arrest followed the earlier recovery of 25.7 kilograms of skunk from his residence.
Meanwhile, in Edo State, a 45-year-old man, Atari Israel, was stopped along the Auchi road with 9 kilograms of Loud concealed in the spare tyre of his Audi estate vehicle. On the same day, two women, Favour Joy and Joy Igwe, were arrested in Benin City’s Ikpoba Hill area. Items recovered from them included 106.57 kilograms of skunk, 1 kilogram of Loud, 800 grams of synthetic cannabinoid “Colorado,” and 302 grams of methamphetamine.
The NDLEA’s public outreach under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued across Nigeria last week, with drug awareness sessions held in several educational institutions including Sir Usman Nagogo College in Katsina, Fountain of Knowledge Academy in Ebonyi, and various schools in Lagos, Calabar, and Anambra. In Bayelsa State, the agency’s Zone 13 Command visited the traditional ruler of Nembe Kingdom, Dr Edmund Dakoru (Mingi XII), as part of its community advocacy efforts.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), commended the dedication of officers across multiple states. He praised their ongoing work in reducing both the supply of illicit drugs and the demand through awareness campaigns.
“These operations show our resolve to dismantle drug trafficking networks while also educating communities on the dangers of drug abuse,” he said.
