The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency intercepted a consignment of ‘Colorado,’ a potent strain of cannabis, concealed in boxing kits imported from the United States of America.

The interception occurred at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, on New Year’s Day.

According to NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, this discovery led to a weeklong intelligence-led operation to apprehend the receiver.

The operation culminated in the arrest of 38-year-old Olorunfunmi Saheed Olakunle, who distributed the dangerous psychoactive substance to dealers across Lagos State.

Babafemi stated, “The consignment had arrived in the country on Monday, 1st January, via Cairo on Egypt Airlines flight marked as boxing kits.”

The suspect, Olakunle, admitted delivering such consignments to various recipients whenever his childhood friend, Sagir Salami, based in the US, sent them. The seized shipment had a total weight of 1.80 kilograms.

In related arrests, a 28-year-old female supplier of ammunition to bandits, Bilkisu Suleman, was apprehended by NDLEA operatives in Kaduna.

She was found in possession of 249 rounds of 7.62 mm live ammunition concealed in a black nylon bag along Zaria-Kano expressway.

NDLEA also reported the interception of a suspect, Francis Suru, and 63 jumbo bags of Ghana Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 2,104.2 kilograms, at Bonny camp cantonment in Lagos. Additionally, in Niger state, two suspects, Umar Musa and Isachiru Abubakar, were arrested with 23 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5kg.

Further arrests include a female drug trafficker, Queen Onyema, caught with cannabis and designer drugs, and Mubarak Sani, apprehended in Kano with 445.9 kilograms of psychoactive substances.

In Borno, four suspects—Zanna Alhaji Dala, Musa Umar, Mushe Ibrahim, and Shehu Idris—were arrested with 60kg of cannabis. In Osun, Ibrahim Olawale was apprehended with 10.974kg of illicit drugs sent from Lagos to Osogbo.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the arrests and seizures, urging officers across all formations to remain vigilant and intensify efforts in drug demand reduction and supply reduction.