The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced a series of significant arrests across Nigeria, including a Chinese businessman, Liang Tak You, and an 80-year-old grandmother, Mrs. Grace Ekpeme, as part of a nationwide anti-drug operation. The raids uncovered various illicit substances, notably Colorado (synthetic cannabis) disguised in moimoi sachets and Canadian Loud hidden in imported canned goods.

 

Key Arrests and Seizures

 

Liang Tak You, a naturalized Malaysian citizen, was apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Friday, July 25. He was found with 26.10kg of Loud in two suitcases after arriving from Bangkok via Dubai. NDLEA operatives had been tracking him from his departure port.

In a separate incident, Mrs. Grace Ekpeme, an 80-year-old woman, was arrested on Saturday, July 26, in Calabar South, Cross River State, with over 3kg of skunk, following intelligence reports on her drug trafficking activities.

 

Major Drug Hauls Across States

 

  • Lagos: On Wednesday, July 23, Chidi Agbafo was intercepted on the Epe–Ajah Expressway with 21.7kg of Colorado (some in moimoi sachets) and 3.8 litres of codeine-based syrup. At the Apapa seaport on Friday, July 25, a joint operation uncovered 101kg of Canadian Loud factory-packed in 202 tins of "Bean Salad Mix" and concealed in two Toyota Sienna buses inside a container from Canada.

  • Abuja-Kaduna Highway: On Wednesday, July 23, Usman Musa was arrested with 71,000 pills of opioids (including tramadol, diazepam, and Exol-5) while en route to Kano.

  • Borno State: Binta Usman, 30, was arrested on Wednesday, July 23, in Maiduguri with 30.1kg of skunk. Her accomplice, Bala Abdullahi, was arrested on Friday, July 25.

  • Ondo State: On Saturday, July 26, three brothers—Nanna, Chizom, and Maxwell Ozirinye—were arrested during a raid on a cannabis plantation in Idoani, where 2,500kg of skunk was destroyed, and 121.4kg of processed cannabis was recovered.

  • Edo State: On Wednesday, July 23, Bright Sunday Okon, 26, was arrested in Benin City, with various quantities of Colorado, Loud, Arizona, skunk, and methamphetamine.

  • Nasarawa State: 105.4kg of skunk was recovered from an abandoned Honda car in Keffi.

  • Niger State: On Monday, July 21, Bashir Abdullahi was arrested in Minna with 6,400 pills of 225mg tramadol.

  • Ogun State: A notorious drug dealer, Jamiu Omolaja, was arrested on Thursday, July 24, in Ifo, and 113kg of skunk was seized from his hideout after resistance from his gang.

  • Gombe State: On Saturday, July 26, Adamu Adamu (a.k.a. “Dankyado”) was arrested along the Gombe–Bajoga road with 10,910 capsules of tramadol.

  • Kogi State: On Thursday, July 24, a consignment of skunk concealed in food items was intercepted on the Okene–Lokoja highway, leading to the arrest of Kindness Bala in Abuja. On Saturday, July 26, 23,600 pills of tramadol, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection, and 700 grams of skunk were recovered from a truck in Ayingba.