NDLEA uncovers UK-bound cocaine in cream containers, Meth in water heater

NDLEA's Nationwide Drug Crackdown: Cocaine in Cream, Meth in Heaters, and a Nightclub Raid

In a sweeping series of operations that underscore Nigeria’s intensifying war on drugs, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a sophisticated trafficking network involving UK-bound cocaine concealed in cosmetic containers and methamphetamine hidden inside a water heater.

The agency also executed a dramatic raid on a Lagos nightclub hosting a drug-fueled party, arresting over 100 individuals including the club’s flamboyant owner, Mike Eze Nwalie Nwogu, popularly known as Pretty Mike.

The nightclub raid took place in the early hours of Sunday, October 26, at Proxy Night Club in Victoria Island, Lagos. Acting on intelligence reports, NDLEA operatives stormed the venue around 3 a.m., recovering cartons of illicit substances including Loud (a potent strain of cannabis) and laughing gas from both partygoers and the club’s storage facility.

The operation led to the arrest of over 100 suspects, with Pretty Mike among those detained. NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi confirmed that the raid was part of a broader strategy to dismantle drug distribution hubs operating under the guise of nightlife entertainment.

In a separate but equally alarming bust at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted 70 parcels of cocaine weighing 3.6 kilograms. The drugs were ingeniously concealed in cocoa butter formula body cream containers and were destined for London.

The arrest of cargo agent Lawal Mustapha Olakunle led to the apprehension of two key accomplices: Ogunmuyide Taiwo Deborah and Mutiu Adebayo Adebiyi, the CEO of a travel agency believed to be complicit in the trafficking scheme.

Further north, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) in Enugu, a 35-year-old Lesotho national named Lemena Mark was arrested while attempting to export 103.59 grams of methamphetamine to the Philippines. The meth was hidden inside a diabeta herbs coffee tea pack, showcasing the increasingly creative methods traffickers employ to evade detection.

The crackdown extended to Kwara State, where NDLEA operatives arrested Umar Abubakar, 40, with 21,950 capsules of tramadol 250mg concealed inside a 100-litre water heater. 

In Taraba State, two suspects, Auwal Musa, 26, and Salihu Bala, 22, were intercepted at a checkpoint in Dan-Anacha with 450,000 pills of tramadol and exol-5, further highlighting the scale of pharmaceutical drug abuse in the region.

Additional seizures included 162.2 kilograms of skunk in Kogi State, 128 kilograms in Nasarawa, and 500 grams of Loud recovered from a major distributor, Oyonumoh Glory Effiong, in Lekki, Lagos.

In Ikorodu, NDLEA agents confiscated 275 litres of “skuchies”, a dangerous cocktail of cannabis, blackcurrant drink, and opioids, underscoring the growing trend of homemade psychoactive concoctions.

The agency also reported arrests in Abia, Ondo, Kaduna, and Zamfara states, where arms and ammunition were seized from a suspect allegedly transporting them to bandits. 

These operations reflect NDLEA’s expanding mandate beyond narcotics, tackling the intersection of drug trafficking and armed criminality.

This multi-pronged offensive by the NDLEA reveals not only the ingenuity of traffickers but also the agency’s increasing sophistication in countering drug-related crimes.

From airports to nightclubs, and from herbal tea packs to cosmetic jars, the battle against narcotics in Nigeria is being fought on multiple fronts, and the stakes have never been higher.