NDLEA arrests two young women, 19, 25 -year-old, for producing, selling Colos -laced brownies online

Stanley Ihedigbo

Two young women, Praise Nwogu, 19, and Ebong Emem Oghosa, 25, have been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Edo State for allegedly producing and selling brownies laced with illicit drugs via online platforms.

According to the Director of Media & Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the suspects were apprehended in Benin City during a weekend operation targeting illegal drug-based edibles.

At the point of arrest, Praise Nwogu was found with 12 plates and a cup of drug-laced brownies, while Ebong Emem Oghosa was caught with 76 grams of skunk, 1.5 grams of Colorado, and drug-laced brownies.

The agency also dismantled no fewer than six syndicates, leading to the seizure of several tons of assorted illicit drugs and the arrest of nine kingpins in a series of intelligence-led interdiction operations.

In one of the operations, NDLEA officers on Tuesday, 18 November 2025, arrested two members of a drug trafficking organization in Onitsha, Anambra State, after they showed up to take delivery of 5.40 kilograms of methamphetamine; 10.70 kilograms of Loud (a strong strain of cannabis); 16 grams of cocaine; 200 grams of phenacetin; 200 grams of methcathinone; and 100 grams of caffeine concealed in pressure machine cylinders imported from South Africa.

The first suspect, Ebulue Lotanwa Uzochukwu, a 30-year-old electrical appliances dealer, was arrested after arriving at a logistics company to collect the consignment. Shortly after, another member of the syndicate, 51-year-old South Africa returnee Christopher Michael Ndibuisi, also showed up and was arrested.

The consignments had arrived at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja-Lagos, with airway bill number 118-12882973, aboard a Tag-Angola flight from South Africa on 13 November 2025, and were immediately seized based on credible intelligence. A follow-up sting operation led to the arrests in Onitsha.

In another operation at the Lagos airport on Thursday, 20 November, NDLEA operatives intercepted a brake-servo automobile part used to conceal 48 pellets and a block of cocaine with a gross weight of 2.30 kilograms, packed among other auto parts destined for Gabon.

Following the arrest of a freight agent, Ameh Solomon, who presented the consignment for export, a follow-up operation at the ASPMDA market, Trade Fair Complex, Ojo-Lagos, led to the arrest of auto-parts dealer Nwafor Tochukwu Boniface.

In Kogi State, NDLEA operatives on Monday, 17 November, intercepted a trailer conveying 4,700 kilograms of skunk at Kabba. Three suspects—Solomon Dauda, Friday Garba, and Daniel Danladi—were arrested. A follow-up operation in Jos, Plateau State, on Friday, 21 November, led to the arrest of the kingpin, Marcus Danladi Dan Mangu, owner of both the trailer and the illicit consignment.

A couple, 55-year-old Onun Okoi Okpotum and his wife, 52-year-old Itam Okoi Okpotum, were arrested on Wednesday, 19 November, at their warehouse located at 13 Park Road, Ugep, Yakurr LGA, Cross River State, where 362 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 4,706 kilograms were recovered.

A raid at Ososo Village, Akoko Edo LGA, on Tuesday, 18 November, led to the arrest of 35-year-old Shedrack Aminu, who was found with 59 kg of skunk.

Operatives on patrol along Enugu/Onitsha Road, Enugu, on Wednesday, 19 November, intercepted Chinoso Emmanuel Monday, 24, conveying 10.1 kg of skunk; 105,600 pills of tramadol (250 mg, 225 mg, and 100 mg); 700 ampoules of pentazocine injection; and 3,000 rounds of live ammunition.

In Kebbi State, 13,155 bottles of codeine-based syrup were evacuated from a warehouse in Dole-Kaina, Dandi LGA, while 23-year-old Umar Adamu was arrested with 12,548 pills of opioids concealed in paracetamol containers and heading to a Boko Haram enclave in the Minok area of Borno State on Friday, 21 November.

Two suspects, Anthony Mercy, 40, and Sunday Augustine, 39, were arrested on Monday, 17 November, with 430.5 kg of illicit drugs along the Abaji–Abuja expressway in the FCT. In a related operation, Samson Dafe, 47, was arrested at Dikko Junction, Kaduna Road, Tafa LGA, Niger State, on Tuesday, 18 November, with 85,100 pills of opioids and 5,456 bottles of codeine syrup in a Sharon vehicle marked ABJ 114 BV.

At Anguwan Makera Kuta, Shiroro LGA, Niger State, NDLEA operatives on Thursday, 20 November, raided the premises of Sani Mohammed, recovering 437 blocks of compressed skunk weighing 471.8 kilograms.

In Lagos, Usman Ayoola Adegoke was arrested in connection with the seizure of 139 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 71 kg at an apartment in Lekki, while Oluchi Celestine was nabbed on Tuesday, 18 November, with 2.6 kg of Colorado packaged in branded containers and some concealed in flight boarding passes.

Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives, supported by military personnel, raided the notorious Peti illicit drug enclave on Lagos Island on Monday, 17 November, recovering 385 kilograms of skunk, Loud, and Colorado, and arresting two suspects.

No fewer than 163,200 capsules of tramadol (225 mg) were also recovered in another operation at a motor park in the Maza-Maza area of Lagos.

Meanwhile, commands and formations of the Agency nationwide continued their War Against Drugs Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities. These included lectures at Baptist High School, Ilero (Oyo State); St. Michael Anglican Primary School, Afuye Epe (Lagos); Government Day Senior and Junior Secondary School, Kurami (Katsina); Women Day Secondary School, Kontagora (Niger State); Government Day Secondary School, Takatuku (Sokoto); St. Paul’s College, Eke (Enugu); and Iwoye Area Community High School, Iwoye (Ogun State), among others.

Commending officers from MMIA, Lagos, Kogi, Edo, Cross River, Enugu, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, and FCT Commands for their successful operations, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug-control operations.

Justifying the ongoing heavy crackdown on drug trafficking syndicates, Marwa noted that the festive season is often exploited by criminal networks, hence the Agency’s intensified offensive.

> “The coming weeks present both an opportunity and a challenge. Drug cartels may attempt to increase their illegal activities, seeking to profit during the busy holiday period. We must not, and we will not, let down our guard,” he said.