The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled major cross-border drug trafficking networks in a sweeping week-long operation across Lagos, Nasarawa, Kano, Gombe, and Edo states. The crackdown yielded over 3.4 tonnes of Cannabis varieties — including Colorado, Loud, and Skunk — as well as more than 645,000 opioid pills.
The most dramatic bust occurred in Lagos on August 3, when NDLEA operatives arrested Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele, founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, moments after concluding his Sunday service at the Okun Ajah branch. According to NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, the cleric had been on the run for months, allegedly masterminding multiple shipments from Ghana to Nigeria.
Olasele is linked to the June 4 seizure of 200kg of “Ghana Loud” Cannabis at Okun Ajah beach and a July 6 bust in which 700kg of the drug was recovered from his delivery van. He had previously evaded arrest twice before fleeing to Ghana.
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Other Lagos raids included the August 7 arrest of Benjamin Udo Ukoh in Ikoyi with 32 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 15.63kg.
In Nasarawa, a massive 3,093kg Skunk haul was intercepted on August 9 from three suspects in New Karu. Kano operations led to the arrest of multiple suspects — one with 359kg of Skunk, another with 9kg of Colorado, and a third with 20,000 Tramadol pills and Diazepam injections.
Gombe State saw a major bust in Tudun Wadan Pantami, where operatives recovered over 550,000 opioid pills, followed by another Tramadol seizure the next day. In Edo, a bus from Anambra was intercepted carrying 23,940 Tramadol capsules, other opioids, and injection ampoules.
Commending the state commands, NDLEA Chairman, retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, urged officers to maintain the agency’s “balanced approach” to drug control, combining high-impact enforcement with continuous public sensitisation.
