NDLEA arrests two for concealing UK-bound illicit drugs in duvet at MMIA

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a consignment of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, concealed in a duvet and packaged for export to the United Kingdom through the cargo shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement on Sunday that two suspects, Adakole Sunday and Austin Balogun, linked to the bid to export the consignment to the UK, were promptly arrested following the discovery by NDLEA officers on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
Babafemi stated that six parcels of the psychoactive substance, with a gross weight of 3.50 kilograms, were concealed inside the duvet.
One of the suspects, Austin Balogun, the main agent who hired Adakole, revealed in his statement that he was paid N700,000 to cargo the consignment to the UK but spent a fraction of the money on export handling charges, with the bulk used to pay for an apartment, according to Babafemi.
In a similar incident, NDLEA agents raided the hideout of two suspects, Joseph Oluwasegun Adewale and Biodun Adelakun, in Igbo Olumo, Ikorodu, Lagos, and discovered seven litres of skuchies, a new psychoactive substance made from black currant, cannabis, and opioids.
Other exhibits seized from the duo included three locally made double-barrel rifles, one locally made double-barrel pistol, one English-made pistol, one locally made single-barrel rifle, three cartridges, one empty 9mm cartridge, and an iron-headed axe.
Another raid in Lagos on Sunday, January 19, led to the seizure of 47kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, and 25.46kg of nitrogen oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, at the notorious Akala area of Mushin.
In Ekiti, a 26-year-old suspect, Adepoju Taiwo, was arrested by NDLEA officers on Thursday, January 23, with 1.950kg of Canadian Loud at Iworoko Road, Ilokun, Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. Meanwhile, Auwal Sani was apprehended by operatives on Monday, January 20, at Bode Saadu in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State. A total of 50,000 pills of tramadol 225mg, weighing 36.56kg, were recovered from him.
In Kano, a Nigerien, Abubakar Lami, 45, along with two others, Abba Sani, 35, and Auwal Aliyu, 32, was arrested by NDLEA operatives at Gadar Tamburawa, where 13.1kg of skunk and 125 litres of ‘suck and die,’ a new psychoactive substance, were recovered.
Additionally, in Gefen Kasa, Dawakin Kudu Council Area of Kano State, a cannabis plantation was located and destroyed by a team of NDLEA officers, who also arrested a suspect, Sabo Ali Muhammad, 45, linked to the farm.