National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a 25.05 kilograms consignment of methamphetamine concealed in packs of assorted breakfast cereals imported from South Africa through the Lagos International Airport and arrested the 56-year-old trafficker who has lived in South Africa for over two decades under a stolen identity.
In another interception at the same airport, an American professional basketball player was arrested over a 33.95kg shipment of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, from Thailand, while a factory producing illegal firearms was busted in Kaduna and tons of assorted illicit substances were seized in raids across Lagos, Ondo, Delta, Edo and Osun states.
NDLEA spokesperson, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said on Sunday that the meth suspect, Omokan Isaac Babatope, whose real name is Chinedu Onwude, was arrested on Wednesday at the arrival hall of Terminal II of the Lagos airport upon his return from South Africa.
A thorough search of his two travelling boxes led to the recovery of 25 parcels of a white crystalline substance, which tested positive for methamphetamine with a total weight of 25.05kg. The parcels had been carefully concealed inside packs of assorted breakfast cereals and cereal-based food products in a bid to beat security screening.
According to Babafemi, the 56-year-old suspect holds both Nigerian and South African passports and has been resident in South Africa for over 24 years.
During a preliminary interview, he confessed that he adopted the name Omokan Isaac Babatope after using forged documents to gain entry into South Africa and had continued to use that identity ever since. He further stated that he was contracted by a South Africa-based man, Obiora Okoye, to deliver the illicit consignment in Nigeria for a fee of R20,000.
Also, on Wednesday, acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives at the Lagos International Airport intercepted a 28-year-old American citizen, Greene Da’monte Khiree, who arrived in Lagos aboard an Emirates Airline flight from Thailand via Dubai. The suspect, who was placed under discreet surveillance upon arrival, was observed abandoning his two checked-in bags before attempting to exit the airport with only his carry-on luggage. He was promptly apprehended at the airport car park.
A search of the two abandoned bags, both bearing his name tag, revealed sixteen parcels of Loud in each, totaling 32 parcels with a combined weight of 33.95 kilograms. A tracking device was also recovered from the bags.
The suspect, a native of Savannah, Georgia, USA, who claimed he has lived in Thailand since October 2025, where he plays professional basketball, said he came to Nigeria on holiday to build networks for his basketball career. A forensic examination of his mobile phone revealed information pointing to his knowledge of and involvement in the drug trafficking activity.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives on 10th November arrested a 33-year-old man, Taiwo Adebayo Aderoju, in an intelligence-led operation at Ebute Metta, where 119.71kg of cannabis sativa was recovered from him.
On Saturday, a joint operation in the Ajah area of the state led to the recovery of 78.8kg of cannabis; 2.5 litres of skuchies; 6.8 litres of codeine syrup; 23 grams of Rohypnol; 478 grams of tramadol; 10.6kg of nitrous oxide and 714 grams of pregabalin from a silver Toyota Sienna abandoned by a suspect who fled on sighting the operatives.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives on 9th November raided Sabon Garin Kangin, where they busted a factory used for the local fabrication of firearms and arrested a 45-year-old man, Sagiru Musa. Items recovered from the factory include 17 locally made Dane guns, two pistols, 25 Dane gun pipes, and other materials used in manufacturing firearms.
This is even as officers on patrol at Jere, along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway on Friday, intercepted a 31-year-old woman, Tabara Dauda, conveying 196 AK-47 live rounds of ammunition and N675,000.00 cash.
In a separate operation at Grace Land, Sabon Gari LGA, on Wednesday, a 30-year-old man, Samson Chibuike Andebe, was arrested with 3,840 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 2.5kg. Also, not less than 499.3 kilograms of skunk were recovered from two suspects, Celestine Chime and Chibueze Christ, when their hideout in the Gonin-Gora area of Kaduna was raided by NDLEA operatives on Saturday.
In Ondo State, NDLEA officers on 10th November arrested two suspects: Victor William and Akeem Azeez at Olabi village bush after they brought out bags of the illicit weed for sale. The suspects subsequently led the operatives to their store, where a total of 50 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 560kg was recovered.
On Friday, the NDLEA statement said, a raid on a cannabis farm in Ipele forest led to the arrest of three suspects: Godwin Benson, Muhammed Awwal and James Timothy, with 122kg of the psychoactive substance recovered.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives on Thursday arrested a 43-year-old woman, Esther Igba, at Alihame, Agbor, Ika South LGA, with 255.670kg of cannabis sativa and 1.5kg of cannabis seeds.
Earlier on Tuesday, operatives arrested 25-year-old Aaron Thomas, a.k.a. Ibori, at Oguato, Ughelli South LGA, after trailing him for over six months. Described as a major distributor of illicit drugs who operates a notorious bush bar, he was arrested with 360 grams of cannabis; 12.7 litres of codeine syrup; 500 grams of tramadol 100mg; 90 grams of tramadol 200mg; 215 grams of swinol and 135 grams of Molly (MDMA).
In Osun State, during a farm destruction operation at Owena Forest Reserve, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Eze Chidiebere and Nwaoge Ugochukwu, with 86kg of cannabis sativa. In a related operation in the same forest reserve, a 40-year-old man, Ugwu Chukwuemeka, was arrested with 28kg of dried cannabis and 21kg of fresh cannabis leaves, while his 0.855-hectare cannabis farm, with an estimated 2,137.5kg of the plant, was destroyed.
After weeks of intense surveillance on illicit drug activities within Benin City metropolis, Edo State, NDLEA operatives on 10th November raided Jamila Street, Ikpoba Hill, where they arrested a 39-year-old woman, Blessing Chukwudi. Recovered from her were 22 compressed parcels of Loud weighing 14kg, 65 grams of Colorado and 73 grams of methamphetamine.
While commending the officers and men of the various Commands for the arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen-Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), praised their vigilance and professionalism, noting that the interception of methamphetamine concealed in breakfast cereals shows that no concealment method, however ingenious, can beat the resolve of the agency’s operatives.
He said the bust of the gun factory in Kaduna further underscores the link between illicit drugs and violent crime, and charged officers across all commands to sustain the tempo of both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.