NDLEA Seizes N5.8bn Cannabis in Lekki Raid

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has uncovered a multi-billion-naira drug stash in a Lekki mansion. Operatives seized 2,326 kilograms of high-strength imported cannabis known as “Loud” during the Friday raid. The haul is worth more than N5.8 billion on the black market. This operation at Lekki Phase 1 reveals how luxury residential areas now serve as hubs for wholesale drug distribution. Two Mercedes-Benz buses and custom retail packaging were also found at the scene. The scale of the seizure suggests a sophisticated supply chain targeting the Lagos elite.

Drug cartels are increasingly using vulnerable citizens to move their products through the country. Agents arrested three people with disabilities in separate stings across Anambra and Kwara states. A 60-year-old man was found with retail sachets of skunk in an Onitsha forest. In Ilorin, a suspect hid over six kilograms of drugs inside a school bag. These arrests show that traffickers believe physical disability provides a cloak of invisibility against law enforcement. It is a cynical tactic designed to exploit the empathy of security officials.

The agency also shut down a makeshift factory in the Ijora Badia area of Lagos. Two suspects were caught brewing “skuchies,” a potent cocktail of cannabis and other illicit chemicals. Officers recovered 270 litres of the liquid mixture along with several hundred tramadol pills. Such local production sites feed the immediate demand in dense urban slums. They turn raw narcotics into cheap, ready-to-use products for the street. The raid highlights the persistent challenge of domestic drug manufacturing in the shadow of major ports.

Kogi State remains a critical transit corridor for the northern drug trade. Operatives on the Okene-Lokoja highway intercepted a commuter bus carrying 76 jumbo bags of skunk. The three suspects on board were heading for Abuja with 766 kilogrammes of the substance. This route serves as a main artery for moving bulk shipments from the south to the capital. Every week, the agency picks off these “mules” on the highway. Yet the sheer volume of traffic suggests many more shipments likely reach their destination.

Across the border in Nasarawa State, agents arrested another man with 129 kilogrammes of skunk. These coordinated strikes across five states indicate a high level of intelligence sharing within the agency. Chairman Buba Marwa has urged his officers to maintain this pace of work. The government is pairing these arrests with a national sensitisation programme in schools and churches. They hope to kill the trade by attacking both the sellers and the buyers. This dual approach is necessary for a country facing a surge in adolescent addiction.

The recent successes do not mask the underlying problem of Nigeria’s drug crisis. High-value seizures in Lekki prove that the trade is well-funded and resilient. Using people with disabilities as couriers points to a desperate and inventive criminal class. The agency is winning individual battles, but the market remains massive and hungry. Effective policing requires more than just highway stops and mansion raids. It needs a sustained break in the logistics that keep these warehouses full.