The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has flagged a series of major seizures and arrests at Nigeria’s land and maritime entry points, recovering cocaine hidden inside fufu and confiscating more than N4.4 billion worth of “Loud” synthetic cannabis at Apapa and Lekki ports.
In one startling case on Saturday, August 15, 2026, operatives arrested 101‑year‑old Esther Ogunmabo in Ilisan, Ogun State, after finding retail sachets of skunk - a potent strain of cannabis - totaling about 90 grams.
According to an NDLEA statement from Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy, Ogunmabo told investigators she began selling the drug after her provisions shop was destroyed by fire. She said a daughter in Lagos delivers supplies every four days, which the centenarian sells in small quantities to locals.
The NDLEA also intercepted consignments of cocaine concealed in edible cassava flour (fufu), and carried out sweeps that recovered methamphetamine, skunk, and various opioids across multiple states and border areas, including Seme, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Abia and the Federal Capital Territory.
At Lagos’s Apapa and Lekki ports, operatives seized synthetic cannabis known locally as Loud, with an estimated street value exceeding N4.4 billion.
NDLEA Chairman and CEO Brig‑Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) directed that, given her advanced age, Ogunmabo be granted bail and enrolled in counselling. The agency said the woman’s daughter, who allegedly supplied the drugs, has been arrested and will face further investigation.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives in Akwa Ibom State acting on credible intelligence, on Friday, August 21, 2026, were said to have intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas conveying illicit drugs to fishing settlements in the Republic of Cameroon.
Three suspects, according to the statement, who were arrested on board the boat, which was heading to Ine Isu, Ine Mbah and Ine Ikot Itie Udung fishing ports in Cameroon, include: Etima Effiong Eekpo, 29, caught with 1.120kg skunk; Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, 33, who had 42.060kg of skunk in his possession; and 27-year-old Kingsley Effiong John, who was found with 20grams of cocaine cleverly concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava fufu, alongside 435grams of skunk. A total of 42.622kg of narcotics was recovered from the trio.
In the nation's maritime space, the Agency also claims to have recorded its first-ever seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through the maritime corridor, following the interception of two containers of cannabis indica, also known as Loud, at the Apapa and Lekki ports, with a combined street value put at over N4.4 billion.
Both containers were said to have been loaded at the Port of Laem Chabang, Thailand, underscoring the emergence of a new trafficking route being exploited by drug syndicates to smuggle synthetic cannabis into the country.
At the Apapa Port, a container, declared to be conveying dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries, was found, during a joint examination of the shipment on Friday August 21 by NDLEA, Customs and others, to contain 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud packed in 54 cartons comprising 2,181 sachets of 500 grams each.
The statement further reveals that at the Lekki Deep Sea Port, a similar container, which had been placed on the Agency's watchlist and monitored by its Marine Special Operations Unit, was jointly examined on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
“Of the seven pallets found in the container wrapped in black nylon, four were confirmed to be laced with Thai Loud, yielding 96 cartons made up of 400 parcels weighing a total of 400kg,” the statement said, adding that the remaining three pallets contained 798 rims of A4 paper, which had been used as cover for the consignment.
In the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, NDLEA operatives were also said to have, on Saturday August 22, 2026, intercepted three waybill packages containing 24,410 pills of tramadol capsules inside a hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba.
A follow-up operation conducted in Niger State led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Sunday Eze, 28, in Kontagora, after which he was transferred to Abuja.
Similarly, operatives in Ondo State on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, were said to have raided a cannabis farm at Ijare forest, Ifedore Local Government Area, following the earlier arrest of three suspected cannabis planters at the same location on 16th August.
The team destroyed a total of 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of the forest.
In a separate operation in the state, operatives same day at Ita-Ogbolu, Akure North LGA, recovered 210kg skunk and a Toyota Camry car with registration number AGL 223 JH belonging to Sylvester Dibiagu Anthony, who is currently at large.
In Kwara state, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Ogbomosho-Ilorin expressway, Ilorin on Friday, August 21, intercepted a Toyota Starlet car without a registration number. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 1.325kg of methamphetamine, wrapped in black nylon bags, alongside quantities of cannabis sativa. One suspect, Muhammadu Usman, 22, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
A 65-year-old woman, Adebayo Kaosarat, was arrested at Akobo-Ojuirin area of Ibadan, Oyo state on Friday August 21, with a cocktail of substances comprising 1.795kg of Scottish Loud, 1.66kg of tramadol, 600g of codeine syrup, 125g of diazepam and 50g of flunitrazepam, totalling 4.68kg, the statement disclosed.
A raid at Hadeija road, Kano, on Monday August 17, 2026, is said to have led to the arrest of Chibuzor Madueke, 31, with 98 blocks of skunk weighing 73.3kg recovered from him, while a similar operation by NDLEA operatives at Seme, Badagry area of Lagos led to the arrest of three family members: Nasiru Tijjani, 52; Moshood Tijjani, 27; and Salami Tijjani, 27, at Ashipa area, near the Seme border, with 48kg of skunk.
In Abia state, NDLEA officers on Thursday 20th August raided the residence of Ikechukwu Anthony Iwuno, 36, at Umuobia Olokoro area of Umuahia South LGA, where 14.4kg Loud, 2.3kg Colorado, 386grams of tramadol and 134grams of rohypnol were recovered, NDLEA reveals
It added that with the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.
While commending the officers and men of Ogun, Apapa, Lekki, Seme, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Abia and FCT Commands for the various successful operations, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Marwa (rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.
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