Tag: NDLEA

• Nigeria will never be your foothold, Marwa warns drug cartels

Barely six months after 10 Thai sailors and their ship were convicted and fined $4.3 million for bringing 32.9kg cocaine into Nigeria, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted another commodity laden vessel, MV Nord Bosporus at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.

Marked 9760110 from the port of Santos in Brazil, the vessel came with no less than 20 kilogrammes of the Class A drug buried under its cargo.

The illicit drug consignment was discovered by NDLEA officers on board the vessel last Sunday, who thereafter took the Master of the ship, Captain Quino Eugene Corpus, and 19 other crew members who are all Filipinos into custody for investigation.

Following the seizure and arrest of the crew members, the Agency filed an application for an order of court for the detention of the vessel and the 20 Filipinos on board for further investigation.

The motion ex-parte in suit number FHC/L/MISC/1306/25 was argued before Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court, Lagos, who on Thursday granted the application for an initial 14 days detention of the vessel, Capt. Corpus and 19 other Filipino crew members.

Preliminary investigation revealed that this was the first time the vessel would come into Nigeria and Africa as it had largely transported coal between Colombia and Brazil while Captain Corpus had barely been with the ship for three months.

The agency had in a similar circumstance arrested 10 sailors who were nationals of Thailand on October 13 on board a vessel named MV Chayanee Naree for trafficking 32.9 kilogrammes of cocaine from Brazil into Nigeria through the Apapa seaport.

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Nine Nigerian suspects were also arrested along with the Thai crew members.

The 10 Thai sailors and the vessel were eventually convicted on Thursday, 15 May, 2025 by a Federal High Court in Lagos presided over by Justice Daniel Osiagor, who also fined them $4.3 million.

In his reaction to the latest seizure of 20kg cocaine on board MV Nord Bosporus, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig-Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) commended the officers, men and women of the Apapa Strategic Command of the Agency as well as the Directorate of Seaport Operations for their vigilance, diligence and professionalism.

Marwa said the cocaine seizure is not just an operational success but “a clear demonstration of our heightened capacity and unwavering resolve”.

“We will continue to tighten our grip on all entry and exit points, especially our seaports, which transnational criminal organisations have historically attempted to exploit,” he added.

“Let this be an unambiguous message to every international drug cartel and every internal collaborator: Nigeria is not, and will never be, your space or your foothold.

“The NDLEA is operating with zero-tolerance, and we will not permit any illicit drug to pass through our borders, whether by air, land, or sea.

“You may scheme, you may attempt sophisticated concealment, but you will fail.

“Our intelligence network, collaboration with international partners, and the dedication of our officers are steps ahead of your nefarious activities.”

For any Nigerian who chooses to collaborate with foreign syndicates in the illicit drug trade, the NDLEA boss reminded them of the consequences of such: “You are not just committing a crime; you are betraying your nation’s future.

“The consequences of aiding and abetting drug trafficking will be severe and unrelenting.

“We are committed to using the full force of the law to dismantle your structures, seize your illicit assets, and secure your long-term incarceration,” he warned.

…seizes over 14,440kg skunk in Osun forest, Lagos, Edo, Kwara, Taraba, Nasarawa raids

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Sunday said it has arrested a wanted drug baron who operates under the cover of a businessman and hotelier, Frank Chijioke Ibemesi, alias Chisco Bee, after weeks of intelligence and surveillance on his criminal activities.

Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement on Sunday.

The 42-year-old Ibemesi, who is the MD/CEO of Franc CJ Ibemesi Nig Ltd, was arrested by the Special Operations Unit at his Daisy Garden Hotel, 66-68 Agbeke street, Ago palace way, Isolo, Lagos, in the early hours of Saturday, Babafemi disclosed.

Babafemi said after this, he was taken to his warehouse at 7 Pius Ezeobi Street off Ago palace way, Isolo, where 42 jumbo bags and four cartons of Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 1,762.8 kilograms were recovered.

According to the statement, also seized from him at the point of his arrest include: $11,600 US dollars; ⁠2,000 British Pounds; 2,200 Euros and 50 Canadian dollars, all in cash.

Babafemi also said an attempt by a drug syndicate operating at Orita-Apeje, Araromi-Okeodo forest reserve, Ife South LGA, Osun state, to load and distribute across the country large quantities of processed skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing a total of 11,135 kilograms, was thwarted last Tuesday by NDLEA operatives after days of surveillance in the forest.

The statement reads, “Two trucks being used to transport the illicit consignments: a Volvo truck marked WWR 29 XA and a Mercedes truck with registration number AWK 713 YZ were seized, and seven suspects arrested. Those in custody in connection with the seizure are: Lucky Abiodun; Julius Amos; Victor Ngbikili; Sunday Oduegwu; Ibrahim Akanni; Eze Godstime; and Fred Ifeanyichukwu.

“A total of 1,902.1 kilograms of skunk were recovered in parts of Edo state. While 184.1kg was recovered along a bush path at Oza/Igbanke road, Igbanke, in Orhionmwon LGA on Thursday, 13th November, 672kg was evacuated from Utese forest, Ovia North East LGA on Friday, 14th Nov, with 494kg recovered from a Mercedes-Benz car marked DE311BEN along

Benin-Akure road, where a suspect, Felix Edah, 45, was arrested the same day, just as Lucky Abagha, 51, was nabbed in another Mercedes-Benz car marked JJJ 56 JW, conveying 552kg.

“While four suspects, Michael Okoh, Offor Agada, Raphael Nkemjika, and Nwabueze Franklin, were arrested with 68kg of skunk and 3.150kg of methamphetamine along the Ijebu-Ode expressway in Ogun state. Danjuma Tukura, 50, was nabbed with 172kg of skunk at Sunkani area of Ardo Kola LGA, Taraba state, on Friday, 14th November, and Wisdom Titus, 24, with 84kg of the same substance at Takum area of the state.

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“In Adamawa state, NDLEA operatives on Friday, 14th November recovered 396,000 capsules of tramadol from a suspect, Ahmed Isyaku Nda, 50, at Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, while 785kg of skunk was evacuated from the warehouse of a drug dealer currently at large at Asob Maraba Karu, Nasarawa state.

“Two suspects: Jamiu Kunle Kardoso and Oriyomi Waliu were on Friday, 14th November arrested with 130 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 65.150kg in Surulere area of Lagos, just as Taofeek Moraina was nabbed same day with 282 blocks of Ghana Loud with a gross weight of 141kg at Otto, Oyingbo area of Lagos.

“In Kwara state, NDLEA operatives on Thursday, 13th November, intercepted a truck marked T-T-T-T-T-0262KT along Ilorin-Jebba expressway, conveying 197 blocks of skunk weighing 78.565kg and 155 cartons of rubber solutions. The truck driver, Umar Yakubu, was taken into custody. In another operation, a commercial bus with registration number KJA-657CY was intercepted at Eiyenkonrin, Ilorin, on Wednesday, 12th November, with 20 blocks of skunk concealed in a 50-litre jerry can recovered, and the driver, Ibrahim Bello arrested.

“In like manner, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities, among others, in the past week. These include: WADA sensitization lecture to students and staff of Government Day Secondary School, Birnin Ruwa Gusau, Zamfara; Holy Ghost Secondary School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; Government Science Technical School, Ringim, Jigawa; City Girls Secondary School, Enugu; Randle Junior Secondary School, Surulere, Lagos; and Anglican Girls Grammar School, Obalende, Ijebu Ode, Ogun state, among others.

“While commending the officers and men of the SOU, Osun, Lagos, Edo, Ogun, Taraba, Adamawa, Nasarawa, and Kwara Commands for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.”

…building our officers’ technical capacity is essential to safeguarding Nigeria’s borders, says Marwa

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has strengthened its maritime surveillance and interdiction capabilities following the successful completion of a week-long working visit to the United Kingdom by officers from the Agency’s Directorate of Seaport Operations.

Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement on Friday.

Babafemi said the six-man team led by Deputy Commander Narcotics (DCN) Aminu Danjuma Jega, undertook the strategic engagement between 19th and 25th October 2025 under the guidance of Mr. Errol Flynn Macdonald of the UK Home Office International Operations.

He said during this time, they visited key British maritime and border enforcement facilities, where they were exposed to valuable international best practices in maritime intelligence, port security, and inter-agency coordination.

Babafemi said the second part of the training on Advanced Container Targeting was conducted for an additional 19 NDLEA officers in Lagos between Monday, 10th, and Thursday, 13th November 2025, by the HOIO Intelligence team.

“Both the UK training tour and the Lagos residential five-day training were sponsored by the UK Home Office International Operations.

The NDLEA delegation held extensive discussions with officials of the UK Border Force, the National Crime Agency (NCA), Home Office Intelligence, the National Maritime Security Centre, and the Joint Maritime Security Centre in Portsmouth, among others.

“During the engagements, the team received comprehensive presentations by the UK National Deep Rummaging Team, which showcased modern techniques and procedures for vessel rummage operations aimed at detecting and preventing illicit drug trafficking through sea routes.

“The officers also witnessed live demonstration sessions at Tilbury and Felixstowe Ports, where inward-bound containers from Nigeria were subjected to layered inspection and risk-based screening procedures,” the statement reads. 

Babafemi said another key highlight of the visit was the introduction and demonstration of the Advanced Sea Searcher System, a state-of-the-art underwater detection technology used for locating concealed contraband and drug consignments beneath ships and port structures.

He said the system’s capacity for high-precision underwater searches was identified as a game-changer in maritime interdiction, offering significant potential for NDLEA’s future operations along Nigeria’s coastal and port environments.

In his post-training presentation to the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), the leader of the delegation, Jega noted that the international exposure had deepened his team’s understanding of intelligence-led maritime enforcement.

He stressed that lessons learnt from the visit would enhance NDLEA’s operational synergy with other maritime and security agencies in Nigeria.

“We were exposed to advanced tools, data-sharing models, and inter-agency coordination frameworks that will significantly improve our maritime intelligence gathering and port surveillance operations. The practical demonstrations we witnessed, particularly in vessel rummage and underwater detection, are invaluable to NDLEA’s ongoing efforts to counter transnational drug trafficking through our seaports,” he stated.

In his response, Marwa commended the officers for representing Nigeria well during the training tour. He reaffirmed the Agency’s commitment to continuous capacity building and adoption of cutting-edge technologies in the fight against illicit drug trafficking.

“Maritime routes remain critical in global drug trafficking networks. Strengthening our officers’ technical capacity and intelligence integration with our international partners is essential to safeguarding Nigeria’s borders. The lessons from this UK engagement will be vital in enhancing NDLEA’s effectiveness in intercepting drug consignments at sea and ensuring safer maritime operations,” Marwa stated.

The NDLEA boss said the Agency would continue to deepen collaboration with the UK Home Office International Operations and other global law enforcement partners as part of ongoing efforts to combat transnational organised crime linked to illicit drugs.

The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has assured the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) of support and a stronger partnership in the fight against drug abuse.

The UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Salem Saeed Musabbeh Alshamsi, gave the assurance when he paid a courtesy visit to the Agency’s National Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.

This was made known in a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, on Wednesday.

The ambassador commended the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), for providing excellent leadership that has led to streaks of operational successes in the fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria.

He said, “I’m here to appreciate your hard work and the great leadership you have provided the NDLEA. We have been following your achievements very closely, and I must say you have done very well and are still doing an excellent job.

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“We follow all the good work that you’ve been doing, especially all the drugs you’re seizing and blocking from coming to the UAE, and we’re so proud of your achievements, and that’s why we’re here to deepen our cooperation with your agency in the area of fighting drug trafficking. The UAE looks forward to working more closely with Nigeria on drug enforcement matters.”

While extending an invitation to Marwa to visit his counterpart in the UAE and the Dubai Police leadership for further engagements, the envoy expressed the readiness of his government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NDLEA on areas of collaboration with the agency.

“We need to exchange information about drug dealers and all of their activities. We are here to help and to support you, especially on this matter. It’s very important that we have very great communication between the UAE and Nigeria, especially now that the relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria has become one of the best.

“If there is any other thing I could do to support the great work you’re doing here, please do not hesitate to ask me, and I’ll be available and willing to do it in appreciation of your great leadership. Our mission is to be here for you, assist and support you”, the Ambassador stated.

Marwa expressed appreciation to the envoy for his kind words on his person and the work of NDLEA, while also commending the developmental strides in the UAE.

He praised the Ambassador’s years of dedicated service and the huge leap in trade and movement between Nigeria and the UAE in the last two years, which he said is in line with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“I’d like to acknowledge the strong diplomatic relations between our two countries that have continued to grow stronger every year. And Your Excellency has just told us now the latest in billions of dollars in non-oil trade, and this is something that we welcome very much in Nigeria because the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda wants to achieve not just peace and stability, but prosperity for all Nigerians.

“The drug scourge is universal, both the trafficking of it and the abuse of it, and there’s a need for collaboration between nations to achieve solutions on this. And in Nigeria, the NDLEA is the agency that is tasked with the control of illicit drugs in the country,” he said.

The NDLEA boss noted that in the last four years, the agency had intercepted a total of 302.202 kilograms of assorted illicit substances going to the UAE either at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos or some courier companies in Lagos.

As the largest anti-narcotics agency in Africa, Marwa said NDLEA partners with all leading drug law enforcement agencies across the world.

“We welcome the collaboration between NDLEA and our counterparts in the UAE. We’re also willing to honour the invitation to visit the UAE for collaborative discussions and sign the MoU”, he assured the envoy.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is working with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate the cartel responsible for the importation of 1,000 kilograms of cocaine seized at the PTML Terminal of Tincan Island Port in Lagos.

Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja, disclosed the development in a statement on Tuesday.

He explained that PTML operators had discovered the consignment in an empty container over the weekend and invited port stakeholders—including NDLEA, Customs, and other security agencies—for a joint inspection.

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Following a field test by NDLEA, which confirmed the consignment as cocaine, the shipment was formally transferred to NDLEA custody on Tuesday for further investigation.

Babafemi noted that the transfer followed coordinated efforts between NDLEA Chairman/CEO Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) and Comptroller General of Customs, Dr. Adewale Adeniyi.

The statement reads, “As a result of the large quantity of the recovered Class A drug, which is worth over $235million (Over N338 billion) in the international market and the global dimension to the cocaine cartel, Marwa on Tuesday, 11 November, directed that the Agency’s leading international partners be involved in the investigation.

“In a swift response to the Agency’s request, officers of the US-DEA and UK-NCA have already joined the ongoing investigation of the largest single seizure of cocaine at the Tincan Port, Lagos.”

Reacting to the seizure and ongoing investigation, Marwa said, “The essence of collaborating with our international partners on this case is to ensure no stone is left unturned and every gap is sufficiently covered so that ultimately we can get all the masterminds of this huge consignment brought to book wherever they are located across the globe. This followed personal excellent engagement between me and the Customs CG on this case.”

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has alerted the public about the circulation of dangerous illicit substances being falsely packaged and marketed as medicinal cannabis.

Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, who made this known in a statement on Wednesday, said the public alert comes on the heels of credible intelligence.

He said such intelligence, led to the arrest of a 28-year-old drug kingpin Afeez Salisu (a.k.a Malu) last Saturday at his 2 Akala Street, off Umoru Street, Idi Oro, Mushin-Lagos enclave from where he was packaging and distributing the fake medicinal cannabis in designer pouches and cups.

Babafemi said a total of 16.4 kilograms of dangerous and synthetic strains of cannabis including Colorado, Arizona, Canadian Loud and Ghana Loud packaged in designer pouches and cups labelled as medicinal cannabis, were recovered from his store.

“The Agency therefore wishes to warn Nigerians especially the youth that these so-called medicinal products are, in reality, adulterated and highly potent strains of dangerous psychoactive substances, and are not the regulated, safe pharmaceutical preparations they are purported to be.

“Investigations by the Agency have confirmed that the seized and recovered products being peddled under the guise of therapeutic cannabis contain dangerously high concentrations of illicit and harmful strains of cannabis, including Loud, known for its extreme potency and severe psychological effects; Arizona, a highly concentrated and destructive variant of cannabis; and Colorado, a potent, often synthetic, strain with devastating consequences on the user’s mental and physical health.

“Rather than the purported medicinal cannabis in the designer pouches and cups, the strains are highly addictive and pose a significant, immediate threat to public health and safety because they are associated with severe mental health issues, including psychosis, acute anxiety, paranoia, and other long-term cognitive impairments, especially among young people,” he said. 

Speaking on the development, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) said the criminal elements behind this deceit are only exploiting the global conversation around medicinal cannabis to push their illicit and life-destroying products into communities. 

“Cannabis remains a prohibited substance in Nigeria and as such any product being sold locally under the guise of ‘medicinal cannabis’ is not only fake, and dangerous but also illegal,” Marwa said.

The NDLEA boss urged the public to be vigilant and not be deceived by misleading labels, fancy packaging, or false health claims. 

“Please do not consume it, report any person or group involved in the illicit trade of these dangerous substances to the nearest NDLEA office”, he added.