Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a woman, Oluchi Celestine, in the Lekki area of Lagos on November 18 after she was found with 2.6kg of Colorado, some of which had been concealed in branded containers and inside flight boarding passes.
The agency, in a statement on Sunday by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said the concealment method was aimed at evading routine checks and reflected evolving smuggling tactics.
“A lady, Oluchi Celestine, was on Tuesday, November 18, nabbed in Lekki with 2.6kg of Colorado packaged in branded containers and some concealed in flight boarding cards,” the statement partly read.
Babafemi also said operatives arrested two members of a drug syndicate in Onitsha, Anambra State, who had arrived to collect 5.40kg of methamphetamine; 10.70kg of Loud; 16g of cocaine; 200g of phenacetin; 200g of methcathinone; and 100g of caffeine concealed in pressure machine cylinders imported from South Africa.
He said, “The NDLEA officers on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, arrested two members of a drug trafficking organisation in Onitsha, Anambra State, when 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.”
In another operation, Babafemi said airport operatives intercepted a brake-servo auto part stuffed with 48 pellets and a block of cocaine weighing 2.30kg on November 20.
He added that a freight agent, Ameh Solomon, and an auto parts dealer, Nwafor Boniface, were arrested.
“In another operation at the Lagos airport, the NDLEA operatives on Thursday, November 20, 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 going to Gabon.
“Following the arrest of a freight agent, Ameh Solomon, who presented the consignment for export, a follow-up at ASPMDA market, Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, led to the arrest of an auto parts dealer, Nwafor Tochukwu Boniface,” the statement disclosed.
Babafemi said operatives in Kogi State stopped a trailer transporting 4,700kg of skunk, arresting three escorts, noting that a follow-up raid in Jos led to the arrest of the alleged owner, Marcus Danladi Dan Mangu, on November 21.
In Edo State, he stated that two women running an online “drug-brownie” business were arrested in Benin City on November 22, while another suspect, Shedrack Aminu, was arrested in Akoko Edo with 59kg of skunk.
“In Edo State, two ladies—Praise Nwogu, 19, and Ebong Emem Oghosa, 25—who specialise in the production and online sale of brownies laced with illicit drugs were arrested on Saturday, November 22, in Benin City.
“At the point of their arrest, Praise Nwogu was found with 12 plates and a cup of drug-laced brownies, while Ebong Emem Oghosa was nabbed with 76 grams of skunk, 1.5 grams of Colorado, and drug-laced brownies. A raid at Ososo village, Akoko Edo LGA, on Tuesday, November 18, led to the arrest of 35-year-old Shedrack Aminu, who was found with 59kg of skunk,” he said.
In another Lagos interception, Babafemi stated that the NDLEA operatives seized 139 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 71kg in an apartment linked to Usman Adegoke.
At Ugep, Cross River State, he revealed that a couple was arrested after officers uncovered 4,706kg of skunk stored in 362 jumbo bags in their warehouse.
In Enugu, Babafemi said operatives intercepted 10.1kg of skunk, 105,600 tramadol pills, 700 ampoules of pentazocine and 3,000 rounds of live ammunition from a 24-year-old suspect along the Enugu–Onitsha Road.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the various commands for their efforts, noting that the festive period often triggers heightened trafficking activities.
He was quoted as saying, “The coming weeks present both an opportunity and a challenge. Drug cartels may attempt to increase their illegal activities during the busy holiday period. We must not, and we will not, let down our guard.”
On Friday, PUNCH Metro reported that barely six months after 10 Thai sailors and their ship were convicted and fined $4.3m for bringing 32.9kg of cocaine into Nigeria, operatives of the NDLEA again intercepted another vessel—MV Nord Bosporus, marked 9760110—from the port of Santos in Brazil at the Apapa seaport in Lagos, with not less than 20 kilograms of the Class A drug buried under its cargo.
PUNCH.
