The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced that its operatives intercepted several consignments of illicit drugs concealed in frozen snails, electric bulbs, and female clothing at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
In a statement released on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the shipments were destined for the United States, United Kingdom, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
He confirmed that at least two suspects have been taken into custody.
“One of them, a cargo agent Boladale Riliwan was arrested on 7th October 2025 following the discovery of 15 parcels of skunk, a strain of cannabis, concealed in 10 pieces of giant rechargeable electrical bulbs he presented in a carton for airfreight to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the export shed of the Lagos airport,” the statement reads.
Another suspect, identified as 48-year-old UK-based public health assistant Olawale Oyebola Hakeemot, was arrested on October 12 while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Manchester. NDLEA officers reportedly discovered 2,300 tramadol 225mg pills hidden inside frozen snails packed in her luggage.
Babafemi revealed that a separate attempt to ship 810 bromazepam pills concealed in women’s clothing to the United States was thwarted at a courier facility in Lagos on October 16.
In Adamawa state, operatives intercepted a suspect, Bello Buba, at an NDLEA checkpoint in Namtari, Yola South LGA, with 38,270 tramadol pills hidden in the spare tyre, boot, and door panels of his Honda Civic after he drove in from Benin Republic.
The statement added that “not less than 53,250 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on 21.3 hectares of cannabis farm in Ilawe Ekiti, Ekiti state, with 70 bags of the same psychoactive substance weighing 1,140kg recovered by NDLEA operatives during an operation that lasted between Sunday 12th and Monday 13th October.
Suspects arrested include: Matthew Emmanuel, 26; James Moses, 27; and Israel Samuel, 20.
“This followed the destruction of 17,400kg skunk on 6.96 hectares of plantation by NDLEA operatives at Aponmu forest reserve, Akure, Ondo state on Sunday 12th October.”
NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa praised the officers for their commitment to ongoing drug enforcement operations, urging them to remain consistent in their efforts.