The Chairman of a real estate firm and a grandmother were among those arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency during their nationwide operations in the outgone week.
The Director of Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, made the revelation in a statement he issued on Sunday.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Trans Fortress Global Resources, a notable real estate development firm, Kolapo Oladapo Raji, was arrested by NDLEA operatives on February 12, 2026.
Raji has been on NDLEA watchlist since 2025 following credible intelligence.
The 57-year-old drug kingpin was arrested at his Safe Court Apartment residence in Ikate, Lekki, Lagos after sustained surveillance soon after his return from the United Kingdom.
A search of his residence led to the recovery of four large bags containing parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, with a total weight of 89.20kg.
Also recovered from him at the point of his arrest was a 2024 model Toyota Hilux.
In his statement, he claimed he got involved in the illicit drug trade after financing some consignments for his overseas associate.
He said hundreds of millions of naira paid to him as profit by his associate motivated him to establish his own independent drug distribution channel.
In another interdiction operation in Lagos, a suspect, Ugwuja Kingsley, was nabbed with 56kg skunk at Agbara on February 19, while Ekwe Arinze was caught with 76kg of same substance at a motor park in Oshodi on February 17.
At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, a total of 170, 900 bottles of codeine-based syrup were discovered in a container during a joint examination of the shipment by NDLEA officers, Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
The request by NDLEA for a 100 percent physical examination and search of the container followed processed intelligence on the shipment.
No fewer than 7,300 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in two sound systems were recovered by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene/Lokoja Highway Kogi State during the search of a commuter bus going from Lagos to Kano on February 15.
A follow up operation in Zuba, Abuja on February 17 led to the arrest of the two suspects linked to the consignment: Ezenma Kingsley, 26, and Ezeja Anthony, 29.
In Ondo State, a suspect Bright Timothy, 28, was arrested at Iju forest on February 19 with 195kg skunk and seeds, while another suspect, Godwin Bernard, was nabbed with 198kg of same substance when NDLEA operatives raided their enclaves in the forest.
A total of 936 kilograms of skunk were seized from a suspect, Yahaya Adamu Gimba, 48, when he was arrested at Azare town, Katagun LGA, Bauchi State on February 17, while another 85.8kg of same substance was recovered from Yahaya Adamu Gimba; Nasiru Suleman, 36; Abdul Umar, 25, and Musa Suleman, 21, in Azare.
While 37kg skunk was seized from Mgbeme Ejeoma, 34, at Club Street, Ekeredjebor, Ughelli, Delta State on February 17 , NDLEA officers in Edo State the same day raided Etiosa camp in Owan West LGA where they destroyed 1,266.8475kg skunk on three farms.
No less than 23kg of processed cannabis was equally recovered, with two suspects: a 68-year-old grandmother, Evelyn Ogenewu, and a 43-year-old, Friday Iruoje, apprehended.
With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities to schools, worship centres, work places, and communities among others in the past week.
These included WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of Muslim Community High School, Ayetoro-Oke, Kajola LGA, Oyo State; Government Girls Secondary School, Gadaka, Yobe State; Owerri City Secondary School, Owerri, Imo State; Government Day Secondary School, Tongo, Gombe State; St. Catherine’s College, Igoli, Ogoja, Cross River State; Government Senior Girls Secondary School, Kofar Kudu, Kano State; and Model Government College, Ikorodu, Lagos State.
