The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has intercepted 25.05kg of methamphetamine concealed in breakfast cereal packs imported from South Africa and arrested a 56-year-old Nigerian suspected of trafficking the drugs.
The agency also arrested an American professional basketball player with 33.95kg of cannabis at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the agency disclosed that the operations were part of a nationwide crackdown that also uncovered an illegal firearms factory in Kaduna and led to major drug seizures across Lagos, Ondo, Delta, Edo and Osun states.
The methamphetamine suspect, identified as Omokan Isaac Babatope, whose real name is Chinedu Onwude, was arrested on Wednesday, 11th November, at the arrival hall of Terminal II of the Lagos airport after returning from South Africa.
A search of his two travelling boxes uncovered 25 parcels of a white crystalline substance weighing 25.05kg, which tested positive for methamphetamine.
The drugs were concealed inside packs of assorted breakfast cereals and cereal-based food products.
The 56-year-old, who holds Nigerian and South African passports, reportedly admitted that he had lived in South Africa for more than 24 years and adopted the name Babatope after using forged documents to enter the country.
He further told investigators that a South Africa-based man, identified as Obiora Okoye, contracted him to deliver the consignment in Nigeria for R20,000.
In a separate operation on the same day, NDLEA operatives arrested 28-year-old American citizen Greene Da’monte Khiree, who arrived in Lagos from Thailand through Dubai aboard an Emirates Airline flight.
The agency said the suspect was placed under surveillance after allegedly abandoning two checked-in bags bearing his name and attempting to leave the airport with only his carry-on luggage.
He was arrested at the airport car park, while a search of the abandoned bags uncovered 32 parcels of Loud, a potent cannabis strain, weighing 33.95kg. A tracking device was also recovered.
The suspect, a native of Savannah, Georgia, reportedly told investigators that he had lived in Thailand since October 2025, where he played professional basketball, and had travelled to Nigeria on holiday to build networks for his career.
A forensic examination of his mobile phone reportedly revealed information pointing to his knowledge of and involvement in the drug trafficking operation.
Beyond the airport interceptions, the agency reported several arrests and seizures across the country, including the discovery of an illegal firearms manufacturing factory in Kaduna.
During a raid on 9th November in Sabon Garin Kangin, NDLEA operatives arrested 45-year-old Sagiru Musa and recovered 17 locally made Dane guns, two pistols, 25 Dane gun pipes and other materials used in manufacturing firearms.
In another operation along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway at Jere on 13th November, officers arrested a 31-year-old woman, Tabara Dauda, with 196 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition and ₦675,000.
The Kaduna operations also led to the arrest of Samson Chibuike Andebe, 30, with 3,840 tablets of tramadol weighing 2.5kg, while 499.3kg of cannabis was recovered from two suspects, Celestine Chime, 34, and Chibueze Christ, 36, during a raid in Gonin-Gora.
In Lagos, operatives arrested Taiwo Adebayo Aderoju, 33, at Ebute Metta on November 10, recovering 119.71kg of cannabis.
A separate operation in Ajah on 14th November resulted in the recovery of 78.8kg of cannabis, 2.5 litres of skuchies, 6.8 litres of codeine syrup, 23g of Rohypnol, 478g of tramadol, 10.6kg of nitrous oxide and 714g of pregabalin from an abandoned Toyota Sienna.
In Ondo State, two suspects, Victor William, 42, and Akeem Azeez, 27, were arrested at Olabi village, leading to the recovery of 560kg of cannabis from a storage facility.
Three other suspects were arrested during a raid on a cannabis farm in Ipele forest, where 122kg of the substance was recovered.
Delta State operatives arrested 43-year-old Esther Igba at Alihame, Agbor, with 255.67kg of cannabis and 1.5kg of cannabis seeds.
Another suspect, Aaron Thomas, 25, popularly known as Ibori, was arrested at Oguato, Ughelli South Local Government Area, following a six-month surveillance operation.
Recovered from him were cannabis, codeine syrup, tramadol, swinol and Molly, also known as MDMA.
In Osun State, two suspects, Eze Chidiebere, 23, and Nwaoge Ugochukwu, 24, were arrested during an operation at Owena Forest Reserve with 86kg of cannabis.
Another suspect, Ugwu Chukwuemeka, 40, was arrested in the same forest with 28kg of dried cannabis and 21kg of fresh cannabis leaves, while his 0.855-hectare cannabis farm, containing an estimated 2,137.5kg of the plant, was destroyed.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives arrested Blessing Chukwudi, 39, during a raid on Jamila Street, Ikpoba Hill, Benin City, on 10th November.
The operation, which followed weeks of surveillance, resulted in the recovery of 14kg of Loud, 65g of Colorado and 73g of methamphetamine.
Commenting on the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, commended officers of the affected commands for their vigilance and professionalism.
Marwa said the interception of methamphetamine concealed in breakfast cereal packs showed that no concealment method, however ingenious, can beat the resolve of the Agency’s operatives.
He also noted that the discovery of the firearms factory in Kaduna further underscores the link between illicit drugs and violent crime.
Marwa urged officers across the country to sustain the agency’s efforts in both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction.
The NDLEA Chief said the commands also continued public sensitisation activities under the War Against Drug Abuse initiative, with awareness programmes held in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
