A Chinese businessman, Liang Tak You, and an 80-year-old grandmother, Mrs Grace Ekpeme, topped the list of arrests made by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in nationwide interdiction operations.

The exercise led to the seizure of consignments of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, hidden in moimoi sachets and Canadian Loud, another strong strain of cannabis, concealed in canned food items imported from Canada.

Liang was arrested by NDLEA operatives at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday, July 25, 2025, based on actionable intelligence.

The suspect, who arrived Nigeria from Bangkok via Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on an Emirates Airline flight, is a Chinese national, naturalised and based in Malaysia, but flew to Thailand where he picked two suitcases filled with 50 parcels of Loud weighing 26.10kg before heading to Nigeria via UAE.

Upon his arrival at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives, who were tracking his movement from his port of departure, allowed him to pass through necessary protocols before picking him up on his way out of the airport.

Ekpeme was arrested at Edet-Nsa Street, Base Site, Calabar South, Cross River State, with over 3kg of skunk, in the early hours of Saturday, following intelligence on her drug-dealing activities.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives, on Wednesday, July 23, intercepted one Chidi Agbafo along Epe-Ajah expressway while transporting consignments of 21.7kg Colorado, some of which were packaged in moimoi cooking sachets and 3.8 litres of codeine-based syrup in a commercial bus to deliver in Warri and Oghara, Delta State.

At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, a total of 101kg of Canadian Loud factory-packed in 202 tins of imported food item labelled ‘Bean Salad Mix’ and concealed in two Toyota Sienna buses in a container that came from Canada, were recovered.

The discovery was made during a joint examination of the container by NDLEA officers, Customs personnel and other security agencies, on Friday. About 71,000 pills of tramadol, diazepam and exol-5 were recovered from Usman Musa by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Abuja/Kaduna highway on July 23, when the suspect was travelling with the consignment of opioids in a commercial bus going to Kano.

In Borno, a 30-year-old woman, Binta Usman, was arrested on July 23 by NDLEA officers, who recovered 30.1kg of skunk from her house at Muna Moforo area of Maiduguri.

A follow-up operation later led to the arrest of her accomplice, Bala Abdullahi in the same area of the Borno capital on Friday. Three Ozirinye brothers (Nanna, Chizom and Maxwell) were arrested on Saturday when NDLEA operatives raided a cannabis plantation at Bending Corner Forest, Idoani, Ose Local Council of Ondo State, where they destroyed 2,500kg of skunk on a hectare of land and recovered already processed 121.4kg of the same psychoactive substance.

In Edo State, NDLEA officers, on July 23, raided Asakpa community in Benin city, where they arrested a 26-year-old lady, Bright Sunday Okon, and recovered various quantities of Colorado, Loud, Arizona and skunk, all strains of cannabis as well as methamphetamine from her.

While 105.4kg of skunk was recovered by NDLEA operatives from an abandoned Honda car marked ABC 204 KM in Keffi, Nasarawa State, their counterparts in Niger, on July 21, arrested one Bashir Abdullahi with 6,400 pills of 225mg tramadol at Kasuwan Gwari area of Minna. A notorious drug dealer, Jamiu Omolaja, was taken into custody and 113kg of skunk retrieved from his enclave in Ifo, Ogun State, on July 24, after a violent resistance and attack on NDLEA operatives by members of his gang.

A total of 10,910 capsules of tramadol were seized from one Adamu Adamu (a.k.a Dankyado) by NDLEA officers on patrol along Gombe/Bajoga road, Gombe State on Saturday, while operatives in Kogi State, on Thursday, intercepted a consignment of skunk concealed inside garri, dried scent leaves and other food items along Okene/Lokoja highway.

A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of 27-year-old Kindness Bala, who was planning to travel to Katsina State with the cargo and later to Qatar. Similarly, operatives in Kogi, on Saturday, recovered 23,600 pills of tramadol, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 700g of skunk from a truck at a motor park in Ayingba area of the state.