…Uncovers 20.5kg Cocaine in Walls of Cups, Body Cream, Hair Gel Containers; Destroys 24,897kg Skunk in Edo, Osun Forests
By Kingsley Omonobi
ABUJA — In a string of intelligence-led operations spanning three weeks across Lagos and other states, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled two major cocaine cartels responsible for six consignments of the narcotic bound for the United Kingdom.
The crackdown culminated in the arrest of the kingpin, Alhaji Hammed Taofeek Ode, a self-styled businessman and estate developer, alongside five other members of the syndicate. Ode, who returned to Nigeria in 2024 after spending over 27 years across several European countries, admitted to owning one of the intercepted consignments valued at over ₦150 million.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi revealed that the breakthrough began on September 16, 2025, when operatives at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, intercepted 174 parcels of cocaine weighing 13.40kg concealed in cocoa butter body cream containers. A cargo agent was arrested, leading investigators to Ode.
Subsequent seizures between September 26 and October 2 uncovered additional cocaine concealed in hair cream, stainless cups, and crayfish packages, weighing a total of 7.1kg. Among those arrested were Smith David Korede, a furniture maker linked to multiple consignments, and suspects Ogunbiyi Oluseye Taiwo and Popoola Francis Olumuyiwa.
In a parallel operation, NDLEA foiled a bid to smuggle 6.3kg of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, into Lagos from Thailand, concealed in bedsheets and hibiscus flowers. Nationwide raids also netted thousands of pills of tramadol and pregabalin, codeine syrup, synthetic cannabis (Colorado), and skunk.
Highlights include:
Kano: Joint NDLEA-Customs operation seized 290,450 pills of tramadol and pregabalin from suspect Sa’adu Ali.
Lagos: Arrest of notorious dealer “SammyBless” with 550g of Colorado in Lekki; 109kg of skunk and 20 bottles of codeine seized in Mushin.
Kwara: 27,700 tramadol pills recovered from suspect Salisu Abubakar.
Kaduna: Over 532kg of skunk seized; suspects arrested in Kudandan and along Kaduna–Zaria road.
Ogun: 112kg skunk and tramadol recovered in Isheri.
Osun: 14,000kg skunk plantation destroyed in Owena/Ijesha forest reserve.
Edo: 10,897.35kg skunk destroyed on four farms; 244.5kg intercepted in Igbanke.
Kogi/Abuja: Interceptions of Loud and Colorado led to arrests in Okene, Gwagwalada, and Abaji.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised operatives across the country for their “tenacity, professionalism, and balanced approach,” vowing relentless pursuit of drug traffickers.
“These successful operations should serve as a warning that NDLEA will not relent until the menace of substance abuse and illicit trafficking is eliminated,” Marwa declared.
The agency also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, holding sensitization programs in schools, markets, worship centers, and workplaces across states including Adamawa, Katsina, Niger, Lagos, and Imo.
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