The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has announced the arrest of a music artist, Godspower George Osahenrumwen, popularly known as Steady Boy, for allegedly attempting to receive a consignment of smuggled illicit drugs from the United States of America for his manager in the Lekki area of Lagos State.

This is just as the agency said it discovered an illicit drug laboratory in the Ajao Estate area of Lagos State.

The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

According to the statement, Steady Boy was arrested following the seizure of a large consignment of Loud concealed inside three cartons of bathtubs and intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, from the US aboard a DHL flight on Tuesday.

“The 20-year-old music artiste was nabbed at Bougain Villa, Primewater Gardens 2, Freedom Way, Lekki, Lagos, when he showed up as the consignee to take delivery of the 140 bags of Loud with a gross weight of 77.20kg on behalf of a syndicate, which includes his manager, Zion Osazee Omigie (a.k.a. Zee Money), who is currently at large,” the statement added.

Babafemi noted that following months of intelligence gathering after a freshly cooked Colos was intercepted, a clandestine laboratory where Colorado was being produced in large quantities was uncovered, while the suspected owner of the laboratory was arrested.

Following the discovery, “freshly cooked Colos weighing 16.2 kilograms, 1.7kg of ADB-CHMNACA Cannabinol, 4.5kg of Potassium Carbonate, and 91 litres of Dibromobutane” were recovered from the apartment.

The statement continued, “In another operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, November 1, raided the enclave of a 28-year-old drug dealer, Afeez Salisu (alias Malu), in Mushin, where 16 compressed blocks of Ghana Loud, a strain of cannabis, as well as designer sachets and bottles of Colorado weighing 16.4kg were recovered from him.

“In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja–Jos highway on Sunday intercepted a consignment of 84,710 capsules of tramadol coming from Onitsha, Anambra State, and heading to Bauchi. A follow-up operation in Bauchi led to the arrest of the recipient, Musa Abdulkarim, 27.

“Two days later, on Tuesday, operatives at the tollgate along the Abuja-Kaduna highway arrested Hamza Musa, 47, conveying 32,946 bottles of Akuskura, a new psychoactive substance, from Lagos, while Saidu Nafiu, 30, was nabbed with 131.5kg of skunk at Kamfanin Zangon Aya, Igabi LGA, Kaduna.

“Three suspects, Seun Olaniyi, 24; Rauf Asogba, 28; and Ayinla Adeniyi, 50, were on Saturday, November 1, arrested at Abeokuta, Ogun State, after a team of NDLEA officers tracked their movement from Benin Republic and eventually intercepted their bus along Abiola Way, Abeokuta, with a total of 1,779kg of skunk recovered from them.”

Babafemi added that one Jamilu Mustapha was arrested in Nasaru town, Ningi LGA of Bauchi State, while 532,600 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 were recovered from the trio of Halilu Amiru, Rabiu Maikudi, and Ibrahim Mati in a truck marked KTG-791 ZZ at Oko-Olowo, Ilorin, Kwara State, on Wednesday.

He continued, “In Edo State, the NDLEA officers on patrol along Okhokho–Isi community in Uhunmwode LGA on Wednesday intercepted two Toyota Sienna buses marked EPE 545 EV and ABC 142 CD, conveying a total of 1,455kg of skunk following credible intelligence.

“In like manner, operatives in Ondo State on Tuesday, October 28, recovered a total of 2,829kg of skunk linked to a 32-year-old female suspect, Mrs Ige Olarewaju, from two locations at Ayede, Ogbese, while another suspect, Samuel Adebayo, was nabbed with 737kg of the same psychoactive substance at Adegbola Junction, Akure.”

The agency said it recovered 76.5 litres of skuchies from a suspect, Ige Oluwale, at Ibereko, Badagry, Lagos, on Friday, October 31.

Babafemi noted that a total of 30,370 pills of tramadol and 177 grammes of methamphetamine were recovered from the duo of Musbahu Abdullahi and Saleiman Ahmed at Wukari, Taraba State, on Thursday, while they were conveying the drugs from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.

“While commending the officers across the country for their resilience, professionalism, and balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the country, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, vowed that the agency will continue to target and dismantle every identified drug syndicate in any part of Nigeria,” the statement concluded.

The NDLEA has continued to clamp down on illicit drug peddlers and syndicates, which has led to a series of arrests and convictions.

PUNCH Metro reported on Thursday that the NDLEA secured the conviction of 9,263 drug offenders out of the 45,853 suspects arrested across the country within the last 30 months.

The agency also said it seized over 8.5 million kilograms of various illicit drugs in multiple operations carried out by its personnel within the same period.