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Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted two consignments, totalling 44.45 kg of synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Colorado or Colos, in consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom (UK).
The agency, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said it made the seizures at the import shed of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, and through a follow-up operation targeting the recipient of a second consignment.
In the first operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted 27 parcels of Colorado weighing 32.20kg concealed in a UK-inbound consignment.
The agency said a real estate agent, Abideen Jide Salami, was arrested on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, after he arrived to collect a large piece of luggage containing the illicit substance using a secret collection code allegedly relayed by his brother based in the UK.
A follow-up operation involving another UK consignment led to the arrest of 44-year-old Nurudeen Abiodun Kadiri, who was identified as the designated recipient of 12.25kg of Colorado.
Babafemi said Kadiri told operatives that his brother in the UK sent him the consignment.
The agency also intercepted Colorado concealed in music speakers at two motor parks in Lagos.
At Maza Maza motor park in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a music speaker rigged with three packs of Colorado, bound for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and ultimately Liberia.
A tour agent, 41-year-old Ifeanyi Obed Augustine, and the consignment’s owner, 46-year-old Obasi Ugochukwu, were arrested after a sting operation at a nearby eatery.
In a separate operation at Iddo Park, operatives arrested Ifeanyi Nwokolo Henry on Friday, September 11, while he was allegedly attempting to dispatch 2.1kg of Colorado to Kano.
The Lagos operations formed part of wider drug seizures and arrests recorded by the agency across several states.
In Kano, NDLEA operatives arrested 20-year-old Saidu Adamu at Sabon Gari with 785,000 capsules of pregabalin weighing 669.425kg.
The agency also said 1,700 tablets of diazepam were recovered from Habibu Sabitu, 28, during a stop-and-search operation along the Zaria-Kano-Hadejia road after the tablets were found concealed inside loaves of bread.
In Plateau State, 51-year-old Chinedu Uzor was arrested at Katako Market, Jos, with 157,100 capsules of tramadol.
In Delta State, separate operations in Ughelli and Asaba led to the seizure of ampoules of pentazocine injection, codeine syrup, tramadol, diazepam, flunitrazepam and MDMA, with some of the drugs concealed inside music speakers.
Two suspects, Emeka Oji and Chukwuebuka Anedi, were arrested in connection with the seizures.
The agency also reported major cannabis seizures and farm destruction in several states.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives destroyed 4,832.56kg of cannabis, known as skunk, on farms in Usen, Igwe-Oke and Ogboha forests across Ovia South West, Owan East and Owan West Local Government Areas.
A 39-year-old suspect, Sunday Segun, was arrested during the operation.
In Ondo State, operatives recovered 186kg of skunk concealed in the boot of a Toyota Avalon car along Oke-Iya, Ijoka Road, Akure.
The agency said the consignment was allegedly being prepared for transportation to Jos for onward distribution, leading to the arrest of 58-year-old Paul Ogbuwala.
NDLEA operatives in Kaduna also arrested Hannah Michael at Gonin Gora with 369.6kg of cannabis.
In Bayelsa State, four suspects, including 70-year-old Godwoman Gboriye, were arrested at Ovom, Yenagoa, with 110 bags of cannabis weighing 876kg.
The other suspects were identified as Motombo Silver, 44, Pere Andrew, 39, and Keme Andrew, 43.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged them to sustain the agency’s drug control efforts.
Marwa charged the officers to “continue to shut every pipeline being used by drug cartels, whether at the airports, seaports, land borders, or in the hinterland where cannabis is cultivated.”
He also urged the agency’s personnel to maintain what he described as a balanced approach to drug control efforts.
