The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a shocking drug shipment concealed in green tea packaging at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
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The bust highlights how traffickers are evolving their smuggling tactics, using everyday items like tea to disguise narcotics.
According to a statement released on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the agency had been monitoring the suspicious shipment for over three weeks before conducting a joint examination with other stakeholders last Thursday.
The seized consignment contained 66 parcels of Loud, a high-potency strain of cannabis, disguised as green tea. The drugs, weighing 62.2kg, originated from Thailand and arrived Nigeria via the United Arab Emirates on an Emirates Airlines flight.
“The NDLEA had watch-listed the shipment and sustained surveillance before inviting other stakeholders for a joint examination,” Babafemi stated. “The Loud consignment came concealed inside wraps of green tea.”
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In a separate operation carried out on June 2, NDLEA officers intercepted a major consignment of 1,665kg of skunk—a different strain of cannabis—on the Lekki-Ajah Expressway in Lagos. Two suspects, Gidado Abdulrasaq Ayinde and Obanla Oluwafemi, were arrested in connection with the bust.
The agency's anti-narcotic efforts extended beyond Lagos. In Kaduna, a 29-year-old man identified as Goodluck Nnaemeka was arrested on the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway.
He was found in possession of 612 bottles of codeine-laced syrup and 2,970 pills of flunitrazepam, a sedative under control in Nigeria.
Also on June 3, NDLEA agents arrested a 52-year-old wanted drug dealer, Kabiru Musa (a.k.a KB), in Kurmin Mashi, Kaduna State. Prior to his arrest, officers had already seized 25.7kg of skunk from his base.
In Edo State, another cache of narcotics was recovered when NDLEA intercepted an Audi Station Wagon along Auchi Road. Hidden in the car’s spare tyre compartment were 9kg of Loud. The vehicle was driven by 45-year-old Atari Israel.
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Additionally, two women—Favour Joy and Joy Igwe—were arrested in the Ikpoba Hill area of Benin City. Recovered from them were 106.57kg of skunk, 1kg of Loud, 800 grams of Colorado, and 302 grams of methamphetamine.
The NDLEA continues its crackdown on drug trafficking across Nigeria with a renewed focus on advanced concealment tactics employed by criminal syndicates.
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