NDLEA busts Lagos cannabis ‘Christmas cookies’ syndicate

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have dismantled a drug distribution network that allegedly used social media to sell illicit substances disguised as imported Christmas cookies and snacks.

The agency said two suspects, Deji Adesanya and Olubiyi Majekodunmi, were arrested following a raid on their hideout on Ojulari Street, Ikate, Lekki, Lagos, on November 22, 2025.

The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that operatives recovered 5kg of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, along with a large quantity of designer sachets used to package the drugs in retail sizes.

According to him, the suspects operated via a WhatsApp platform, distributing the substances in branded pouches with images and labels of cookies and snacks.

“The drug syndicate run by the duo of Deji Adesanya and Olubiyi Majekodunmi had imported consignments of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, and a variety of colourful designer sachets with pictures and labels of cookies and snacks printed on them, and used to package the psychoactive substance in retail quantities. Following credible intelligence about the activities of the syndicate which operates and distributes through a WhatsApp platform, the NDLEA operatives on Saturday, November 22, 2025 raided their apartment at Ojulari Street, Ikate area of Lekki where a large quantity of the designer sachets and five kilograms of Loud were recovered from them at the point of their arrest,” Babafemi stated.

In a separate operation on November 27, the NDLEA operatives arrested 38-year-old Philip Ucheka in the Ladipo area of Mushin while he was taking delivery of 110 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 55.6kg. Three delivery vehicles were also seized.

At a courier company in Lagos, operatives intercepted 100g of Loud concealed in a teddy bear imported from Thailand on November 27, and a consignment of 548 tramadol capsules hidden in bottles of Vitamin C and Magnesium bound for the UK was recovered the following day.

Along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, on November 29, officers arrested 55-year-old Wasiu Kareem, recovering 8,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 590 bottles of codeine syrup, 1,500 co-codamol pills, and 9,900 tramadol capsules.

In Ondo State, seven suspects —including John Ede, Ede Ndubuisi, Ikenna Abe, Eze Chukwuma, Maduabuchi Odo, Nnaji Chudubem, and Gorge Okowor—were arrested on November 24 in a raid on Ipe forest, Akoko South-East LGA, recovering 3,077kg of skunk.

Other seizures include:

Anthony Sylvester (49): 649kg skunk, Okene/Lokoja Highway, Kogi State, November 26

Abubakar Shuaibu (33): 487 blocks of skunk (243.5kg), Ashipa, Seme border, Badagry, November 28

Tsalha Alasan (47): 137kg skunk, Zaria–Kano road, November 24

Godspower Appeal, Ernest Upong, Godday Chukwudi: 322 blocks of skunk (209kg), Fanshanu village, Toro LGA, Bauchi State, November 26

John Ekojo (51): 210.15kg skunk, Abuja–Jos highway, November 29

Abdullahi Abubakar & Jamila Abdullahi: 725 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, Abuja–Kaduna highway, November 29.

Awwal Sabiu (20): 400 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, Abuja–Kaduna tollgate, November 28

Babafemi noted that the agency had recently uncovered illicit drugs hidden inside flight boarding passes, highlighting the sophistication of trafficking methods.