A Chinese businessman Liang Tak You and an 80-year-old grandma Mrs. Grace Ekpeme top the list of arrests made by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in nationwide interdiction operations leading to the seizure of consignments of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis hidden in moimoi sachets and Canadian Loud, another strong strain of cannabis concealed in canned food items imported from Canada.
Liang was arrested by NDLEA operatives at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos on Friday 25th July 2025 based on actionable intelligence.
The suspect, who arrived Nigeria from Bangkok via Dubai, UAE, on Emirates Airline flight, is a Chinese national, naturalised and based in Malaysia, but flew to Thailand where he picked two suitcases filled with 50 parcels of Loud weighing 26.10kg before heading to Nigeria via UAE.
Upon his arrival at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives who were tracking his movement from his port of departure allowed him to pass through necessary protocols before picking him up on his way out of the airport.
The octogenarian grandma Mrs. Grace Ekpeme was arrested at Edet-Nsa street, Base Site, Calabar South, Cross River state with over 3kg skunk in the early hours of Saturday 26th July following intelligence on her drug dealing activities.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 23rd July intercepted a suspect Chidi Agbafo along Epe – Ajah expressway while taking consignments of 21.7kg Colorado, some of which were packaged in moimoi cooking sachets and 3.8litres of codeine based syrub in a commercial bus to deliver in Warri and Oghara, Delta state.
At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, a total of 101kg Canadian Loud factory packed in 202 tins of imported food item labelled ‘Bean Salad Mix’ and concealed in two Toyota Sienna buses in a container that came from Canada, were recovered.
The discovery was made during a joint examination of the container by NDLEA officers, men of Customs Service and other security agencies on Friday 25th July.
No fewer than 71,000 pills of tramadol, diazepam and exol-5 were recovered from Usman Musa by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Abuja- Kaduna highway on Wednesday 23rd July when the suspect was travelling with the consignment of opioids in a commercial bus going to Kano.
In Borno, a 30-year-old lady Binta Usman was on Wednesday 23rd July arrested by NDLEA officers who recovered 30.1kg skunk from her house at Muna Moforo area of Maiduguri.
A follow up operation later led to the arrest of her accomplice Bala Abdullahi in the same area of the Borno state capital on Friday 25th July.
Three brothers: Nanna Ozirinye, Chizom Ozirinye and Maxwell Ozirinye were on Saturday 26th July arrested when NDLEA operatives raided a cannabis plantation at bending corner forest, Idoani, Ose local council area of Ondo State where they destroyed 2,500 kilograms of skunk on an hectare of land and recovered already processed 121.4kg of same psychoactive substance.
In Edo state, NDLEA officers on Wednesday 23rd July raided the Asakpa community in Benin city, where they arrested a 26-year-old lady Bright Sunday Okon and recovered various quantities of Colorado, Loud, Arizona and skunk, all strains of cannabis as well as Methamphetamine from her.
While a total of 105.4kg skunk was recovered by NDLEA operatives from an abandoned Honda car marked ABC 204 KM in Keffi, Nasarawa state, their counterparts in Niger state on Monday 21st July arrested a suspect Bashir Abdullahi with 6,400 pills of tramadol 225mg at Kasuwan Gwari area of Minna, even as a notorious drug dealer Jamiu Omolaja was taken into custody and 113kg skunk retrieved from his enclave in Ifo, Ogun state on Thursday 24th July after a violent resistance and attack on NDLEA operatives by members of his gang.
A total of 10,910 capsules of tramadol were seized from a suspect Adamu Adamu (a.k.a Dankyado) by NDLEA officers on patrol along Gombe-Bajoga road, Gombe state on Saturday 26th July, while operatives in Kogi state on Thursday 24th July intercepted a consignment of skunk concealed inside garri, dried scent leaves, and other food items along Okene-Lokoja highway.
A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of 27-year-old Kindness Bala who was planning to travel to Katsina state with the cargo and later to Qatar.
Similarly, operatives in Kogi on Saturday 26th July recovered 23,600 pills of tramadol, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 700 grams of skunk from a truck at a motor park in Ayingba area of the state.
The War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands equally continued across the country in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitization lecture delivered to students and staff of Komu/Babaode High School, Babaode, Itesiwaju LGA, Oyo state; Beacon Christian Academy, Ngodo, Afikpo LGA, Ebonyi; Government Day Secondary School, Araba, Illela, Sokoto; and Government Junior College, Agege, Lagos; while the Anambra state command of NDLEA paid WADA advocacy visit to the traditional rulers of Awka community, Obi Gibson Nwosu, Ezeuzu 11 and Ukpo community, Igwe Robert Eze, Okofia VI, among others.
While commending the officers and men of MMIA, Apapa, Lagos, Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Nasarawa, Borno, Niger, Ogun, Gombe, Kaduna and Kogi Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Gwarimpa, Abuja, on Thursday, ordered the remand of the founder of the Prophetic Victory Voice of Fire Ministry, Pastor Amos Isah, over the alleged rape of a 14-year-old church member.
Justice Modupe Osho-Adebiyi directed that the 39-year-old cleric be kept in custody pending the submission of his previous bail records.
The decision followed the resumption of the high-profile trial on Thursday.
Isah, whose church is located in the Gwagwalada Area Council, pleaded not guilty to the eight charges brought against him, including rape under the Child’s Rights Act 2003, sexual exploitation, coercion, emotional and psychological abuse, gross indecency, and the abduction of a minor.
The prosecution alleged that the teenage survivor, identified as B.Z.J., was lured by the cleric into the church’s newly constructed auditorium on May 26, 2025.
The charge sheet, marked FCT/HC/CR/467/2024, stated that Isah locked the doors and forcefully had sexual intercourse with the minor without her consent.
Count one of the charges reads, “That you, APOSTLE AMOS ISAH (39 years), male, of Behind Federal Road Safety, Gwagwalada, Abuja, on or about the 26th day of May, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did commit an illegal act to wit: rape. You lured one B.Z.J.
(14 years old), Female, of Plot Gwagwalada, Abuja, into your office at Prophet Victory Voice Fire Ministry International Church, Gwagwalada, Abuja, and forcefully had sexual intercourse with her without her consent. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 31(1) of the Child’s Rights Act, 2003, and punishable under Section 31(2) of the same law.”
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a large consignment of Canadian Loud, a high-potency strain of cannabis, weighing 4,173.5 kilograms, with an estimated street value of N10.43bn at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos.
The agency said the seizure followed months of intelligence gathering, surveillance, and tracking of the shipment, which originated from Toronto, Canada, on March 28, 2026.
In a statement on Wednesday, the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the container was moved by rail to Montreal before being shipped on board the vessel Jakarta Express Voyage, which arrived at Tanger Med Port in Morocco on April 15.
He added that the shipment was later transferred to another vessel, Osaka Voyage, which eventually arrived at the Lagos Port on May 9.
According to the agency, its Marine Intelligence Unit and Tincan Island Strategic Command monitored the consignment for over two months in collaboration with international partners, including the United Kingdom Home Office International Operations, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
“The successful interdiction of the illicit drug consignment followed painstaking intelligence gathering, sustained surveillance, and trailing of the container from its point of departure in Toronto,” the statement partly read.
Babafemi said the drugs were eventually seized on Tuesday, May 12, during a joint examination involving NDLEA operatives, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies.
He explained that the drugs were concealed inside a used Ford bus and a Mercedes-Benz C300 car loaded within the shipping container.
Speaking during the handover of the exhibits by the Customs Service at the port on Wednesday, NDLEA Director of Seaports Operations, Ibinabo Archie-Abia, said the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of inter-agency and international collaboration in combating transnational drug trafficking.
The seizure came just days after NDLEA operatives raided a mansion in Lekki, Lagos, allegedly used as a stash house, where 2,326 kilograms of the same substance, valued at over N5.8bn, were recovered.
Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operation for their professionalism and vigilance.
Marwa said the repeated interceptions indicated a coordinated attempt by international drug syndicates to flood Nigeria with synthetic cannabis strains.
“This second massive seizure in less than a week is a clear message to international syndicates who think they can use our ports as entry points for their illicit trade. The synergy between NDLEA, Customs, and our international partners is yielding results,” he said.
He added that the agency would continue efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks linked to the shipments and ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
The Ondo State Police Command on Wednesday said it had deployed operatives to Akotogbo community in Irele Local Government Area of the state following the discovery of the bodies of two residents in a bush within the area.
The deceased, identified as Loyinmi Bode and Andrew Friday, were reportedly found at separate locations within the community in incidents that occurred within a month.
The development has thrown the agrarian community into fear and tension, with residents calling for urgent intervention by security agencies and the state government.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, Abayomi Jimoh, said the command was aware of the situation and had taken steps to restore calm.
“The command is fully aware of these developments and remains resolute in its constitutional mandate of protecting the lives and property of all law-abiding residents of Ondo State,” he said.
He added that robust security measures had been put in place within Akotogbo and neighbouring communities to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
“In response, robust security measures have been emplaced within Akotogbo and its adjoining communities to prevent any breakdown of law and order and ensure sustained public safety,” Jimoh said.
The police spokesperson also noted that efforts were ongoing to identify, arrest, and prosecute those responsible for the deaths.
