The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has uncovered a WhatsApp-based drug distribution ring operating in Lekki, Lagos, where traffickers disguised the illicit substance Canadian Loud as imported Christmas cookies and snacks before distributing it across the city.

According to the NDLEA, the sophisticated operation was run by two suspects identified as Deji Adesanya and Olubiyi Majekodunmi. They allegedly imported Loud in bulk and then repackaged it into colourful designer sachets that were printed with cookie and snack labels.

The agency provided details on the raid: “Following credible intelligence about the activities of the syndicate which operates and distributes through a WhatsApp platform, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 22nd November 2025, raided their apartment at Ojulari street, Ikate area of Lekki, where a large quantity of the designer sachets and 5kilograms of Loud were recovered from them at the point of their arrest,” the agency stated.

In a separate significant raid on November 27, the NDLEA arrested 38-year-old kingpin Philip Ucheka at Ladipo, Mushin, while he was receiving 110 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 55.6 kilograms. The agency also seized three delivery vehicles linked to the operation.

At a Lagos courier facility, officers intercepted 100 grams of Loud that had been hidden inside a teddy bear imported from Thailand. The following day, another shipment containing 548 tramadol capsules concealed in Vitamin C and magnesium bottles and headed to the United Kingdom was seized.

Nationwide, NDLEA operations continued across several states. In Oyo State, on November 29, NDLEA officers on the Lagos–Ibadan expressway arrested Wasiu Kareem, 55, with a significant haul of pharmaceuticals: 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 were arrested on November 24 during a raid at Ipe forest in Akoko South East. Officers recovered a massive amount of skunk, weighing 3,077 kilograms, from the location.

At Kogi State, the NDLEA arrested Anthony Sylvester on November 26 along the Okene–Lokoja highway with 649 kilograms of skunk. At the Seme border area of Lagos, a raid on November 28 led to the arrest of Abubakar Shuaibu, 33, with 487 blocks of skunk weighing 243.5 kilograms.

In Kano State, officers arrested 47-year-old Tsalha Alasan along the Zaria–Kano road with 137 kilograms of skunk. Additionally, three more suspects were arrested in Fanshanu village, Bauchi State, with 322 blocks of skunk weighing 209 kilograms, and a black Toyota Highlander used for transportation was recovered.

On November 29, the NDLEA arrested John Ekojo, 51, along the Abuja–Jos highway with 210.15 kilograms of skunk.

In operations targeting illegal arms, a couple, Abdullahi Abubakar and Jamila Abdullahi, were arrested on the Abuja–Kaduna highway with 725 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition concealed in a maize sack. Another suspect, Awwal Sabiu, was arrested on November 28 with 400 rounds of the same ammunition.

NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) praised the field teams across Lagos, Ondo, Oyo, Kogi, Kaduna, Kano, Seme, and Bauchi, urging officers to stay committed to the agency’s balanced approach to drug control efforts. He noted that the operations reflect ongoing work to disrupt trafficking networks and reduce the availability of illicit substances nationwide.

The agency also scaled up its War Against Drug Abuse outreach, holding sensitisation sessions in schools, religious centres, ports, workplaces, and communities across Kano, Lagos, Ebonyi, and Enugu.

Last week, the agency recovered N6.7 billion worth of tramadol pills and codeine syrups during a sting operation that targeted a major opioids cartel operating from a residential estate in the Isolo area of Lagos. The operation, carried out between November 19 and 20, led to the arrest of a drug baron, Onyekachi Pius Nwanagu, along with five members of his network.

According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the raid was triggered by credible intelligence that the syndicate was preparing to distribute 7,272,000 pills of tramadol 225mg and 526,200 bottles of codeine syrup ahead of the Christmas season. The drugs were reportedly stored inside a compound at 23 Sunny Billa East Street, Bucknor, Isheri.

The agency further explained that two members of the network were first arrested at Apple Junction, Festac, on November 19 while conveying 300 cartons of opioids. A follow-up raid the next day led to the arrest of Nwanagu and three more suspects, with the seized drugs evacuated in 11 trucks to NDLEA’s central exhibit complex.