- 1,200 Parcels Canadian Loud Worth N1.8Bn Hidden Inside 2 Sienna Buses In Container From Canada Intercepted At Tin-Can Port
- Fake Police Officer Innocent Ekpe With Forged DSP ID Card Caught With 292kg Skunk In Asaba
- 1.3 Million Pills Of Tramadol, 6,000kg Skunk, Meth, Nitrous Oxide Gas Seized; 2 Teenagers With AK-47, Pistol Nabbed In Nationwide Sweep
By: The Unique Model Magazine Crime Desk | Lagos
Sunday 20th September 2026
It was a week of harvest of arrests and multi-billion naira seizures for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) as operatives swooped on drug cartels across Lagos, Edo, Niger, Delta, Abuja, Gombe, Imo and Ondo, intercepting over 1.3 million pills of tramadol and other opioids as well as 6,000 kilograms of potent strains of cannabis with a combined street value of more than N3.4 Billion Naira.
In the catalogue of breakthroughs, two cases stood out — the N1.8 Billion Canadian Loud interception at Tin-Can Port and the dramatic arrest of a 49-year-old fake senior police officer who has been using forged police identity to ferry drugs across state lines.
According to NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the fake police officer, Innocent Ekpe, 49, was arrested on Wednesday 16th September 2026 by operatives along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba, Delta State with 292.48 kilograms of skunk hidden inside his silver Toyota Sienna bus. Investigation revealed that Ekpe had long paraded himself as Godwin Emeka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, using a forged ID card to escape scrutiny at checkpoints while transporting illicit consignments. An accomplice, 39-year-old Nduka Joseph, was arrested along with him.
In Edo State, operatives acting on intelligence stormed a location on Agbor Road, Benin City, where they arrested 45-year-old Matthew Ossai, who used his auto-repair workshop as a front for storing illicit drugs. Officers recovered 48 kilograms of Canadian Loud and 152 grams of methamphetamine, along with a metal box used to store the illicit substances.
At Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos, a 40-foot container shipped from Montreal, Canada and arrived on 12th September was placed under intensive monitoring based on processed intelligence. The shipment was eventually subjected to a full joint physical examination with Customs and other security agencies on Wednesday 16th September. The search uncovered 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 603.75 kilograms, concealed inside 31 black jumbo bags loaded within two Toyota Sienna vehicles in the container. The Loud alone is valued at One Billion Eight Hundred and Eleven Million Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N1,811,250,000).
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway at Chachi, Tafa LGA, on Tuesday 15th September arrested three young suspects: Bashir Usman (20), Abubakar Nuhu (18) and Abdulrahman Abdulwahab (18) with two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles and a magazine, a locally made pistol with magazine, and nine rounds of 9mm ammunition concealed in a black travel bag.
Similarly, two suspects: Aminu Isyaku (23) and Jamilu Habibu (25) were on Friday 18th September arrested along Abaji-Abuja highway. Over 1.1 million assorted tramadol tablets/capsules, codeine syrup, methamphetamine and Exol tablets concealed in eight sacks en route from Onitsha, Anambra State to Mararaba, Nasarawa State, were recovered from them.
In Lagos, suspect Onyeka Ofor was arrested on Friday 18th September at his residence in Aguda, Surulere with 48,900 pills of tramadol 225mg, while seven cartons of cannabis sativa weighing 59kg were intercepted at a logistics company with suspect Luke Ugokwe taken into custody. In another operation in Lagos, Ibrahim Hudu (43) was arrested at Apongbo with 998.38kg of nitrous oxide gas on Thursday 17th September.
A total of 154,480 capsules of tramadol were recovered from two suspects: Sabi’u Umar (27) and Hassana Muhammad (19) who were arrested at Barunde area and Gombe main market respectively in Gombe State on Friday 18th September.
Also, Ifesinachi Godwin (25) was arrested along the Owerri-Onitsha road, Imo State with 43.85kg of skunk on Friday 18th September, while four suspects: Blessing Effiong, Saviour Peter, David Friday Sunday and Ability Peter Sunday, were nabbed during raid and destruction of 5,000 kilograms of skunk on a two-hectare cannabis farm in Ita-Ogbolu forest, Ondo State on Tuesday 15th September. No less than 48kg of dry and fresh cannabis was recovered from the location for prosecution.
Meanwhile, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities. These include WADA lectures to St. Ferdinand School, Ogbomoso, Oyo; Unizik Secondary School, Awka, Anambra; Scholars Nursery and Primary School, Epe, Lagos, and Government Technical Training School, Jalingo, Taraba, while the Delta Ports Command paid advocacy visit to His Royal Majesty, King Couple Mackson Oromoni Mobene III, Pere Ama-Okosu of Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom, Delta State, among others.
Commending his men, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) hailed officers of Lagos, Tincan, Edo, Niger, Delta, Ondo, Gombe, Imo and FCT Commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach, and enjoined them to continue the balanced approach to drug control efforts
Conclusively, from a fake DCP with forged ID card to a mechanic who turned his workshop to drug warehouse, from teenagers bearing AK-47s to a container from Canada hiding N1.8bn Loud inside Sienna buses — this week’s sweep proves one thing: NDLEA is everywhere. With N3.4 Billion worth of Loud, opioids, 1.3 million tramadol pills, 6,000kg skunk, meth, nitrous gas and arms off the street, Marwa’s men have again sent a strong warning: No hiding place for drug barons.