NDLEA arrests three Persons With Disabilities for drug trafficking, uncovers N5.8bn loud in Lekki, Lagos

Michael Olumide

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested three Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) for alleged drug trafficking in separate operations carried out across Anambra and Kwara states, even as the agency uncovered a massive N5.8 billion stash of imported cannabis, popularly known as Loud, in a Lekki, Lagos mansion.

The anti-narcotics agency also dismantled a skuchies production factory in Lagos as part of intensified nationwide operations against illicit drug trafficking and abuse.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Director, Media and Advocacy of NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi, one of the suspects, 60-year-old Romanus Nwabara, was arrested following credible intelligence that led operatives to Akpaka Forest in Onitsha, Anambra State.

Babafemi disclosed that the suspect was apprehended on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, with 250 grams of skunk already packaged in retail sachets.

In another operation in Ogbunike area of Anambra State, NDLEA officers on Thursday, May 7, arrested another PWD suspect identified as Amos Kenneth, 25.
Items recovered from him included 160.3 grams of Tramadol 225mg and 100mg, 80 pills of Diazepam, 38.23 grams of Exol-5, and 176.93 grams of skunk.

Similarly, in Kwara State, operatives on patrol along Bode Saadu intercepted a commercial vehicle on Friday, May 8, during which one of the passengers, Usman Salisu, also identified as a PWD, was found with 6.3 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a brown school bag.

In what appeared to be one of the biggest drug seizures recorded recently by the agency, operatives of the NDLEA Special Operations Unit on Friday raided a mansion located at No. 36 African Lane, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, allegedly used as a drug stash house.

During the operation, officers recovered 4,000 parcels of Loud, a potent strain of imported cannabis, weighing 2,326 kilograms with an estimated street value of N5.815 billion.

The operatives also seized two Mercedes-Benz buses and several designer sachets allegedly used for packaging the illicit drugs for retail distribution.

Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives arrested Emmanuel Osita Okeke, 38, with 129 kilograms of skunk at Nyanya Karu in Nasarawa State on Monday, May 4.
On the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State, operatives intercepted a white commuter J5 bus heading to Abuja on Friday, May 8.

A thorough search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 76 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 766 kilograms.

Three suspects identified as Mathew Omohove, Ebuka Desmond, and Babangida Musa were subsequently arrested in connection with the seizure.
The agency also uncovered a makeshift skuchies production factory at Ijora Badia area of Lagos during a raid conducted on Wednesday, May 6.
Two suspects, Bose Jamiu and Gbenga Gege, were arrested while allegedly cooking cannabis and mixing it with other illicit substances.

Recovered from the scene were 270 litres of already produced skuchies and 106 grams of Tramadol 225mg.

Beyond enforcement operations, the NDLEA said its Commands and formations across the country continued with the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign in schools, communities, worship centres and workplaces.

Some of the awareness programmes held during the week included sensitisation lectures at Ta’al Model Secondary School, Lafia in Nasarawa State; Federal College of Education, Ilawe Ekiti; Adventist Secondary Technical College, Owerrinta in Abia State; Golden Anchor Secondary School, Shomolu, Lagos; and Mary Hanney Secondary School, Oron in Akwa Ibom State.

Other locations visited include Mallam Ibrahim Islamiyya School in Rano, Kano State, and Isemi-Ile Grammar School in Kajola Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Commending officers and men of the Special Operations Unit as well as Commands in Anambra, Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa and Lagos states, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their commitment to reducing drug supply while simultaneously intensifying drug abuse sensitisation campaigns across the country.

He charged operatives nationwide to sustain the current momentum in the fight against illicit drugs and substance abuse.