The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted over 1.3 million pills of tramadol and other opioids as well as 6,000 kilograms of potent strains of cannabis worth over N3.4 billion in a string of major operational breakthroughs across Nigeria.
Top on the line up of operations was the interception of 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis with a gross weight of 603.75 kilograms, valued at N1,811,250,000, and the arrest of a trafficker who impersonates as a senior police officer to evade scrutiny at checkpoints while ferrying drugs across state lines.
The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement issued on Sunday, said the 49-year-old fake police officer, Innocent Ekpe, was arrested by NDLEA operatives along the Benin-Onitsha expressway in Asaba, the capital of Delta State, with 292.48 kilograms of skunk hidden in his silver Toyota Sienna bus on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
Babafemi said investigation revealed that Ekpe had long paraded himself as Godwin Emeka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, using a forged ID card to escape scrutiny at checkpoints while transporting illicit consignments.
“An accomplice, 39-year-old Nduka Joseph, was arrested along with him,” Babafemi stated.
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He added that NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence stormed a location on Agbor Road in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, where they arrested 45-year-old Matthew Ossai, who allegedly used his auto-repair workshop as a front for storing illicit drugs.
He noted that anti-narcotic officers recovered 48 kilograms of Canadian Loud and 152 grams of methamphetamine, along with a metal box used to store the illicit substances.
Babafemi disclosed that a 40-foot container shipped from Montreal, Canada, and arrived at the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos State on September 12 was placed under intensive monitoring by NDLEA operatives based on processed intelligence.
Babefemi said the shipment was eventually subjected to a full joint physical examination with Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies on Wednesday, September 16, noting that the search uncovered 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 603.75 kilograms, concealed inside 31 black jumbo bags loaded within two Toyota Sienna vehicles in the container.
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