The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a Lagos hotelier, Frank Chijioke Ibemesi, after weeks of surveillance that linked him to a major drug trafficking network in the state.
The arrest was confirmed in a statement issued on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters.
According to the statement, operatives of the Special Operations Unit picked up the 42-year-old at his Daisy Garden Hotel located at 66–68 Agbeke Street, Ago Palace Way in Isolo, Lagos, in the early hours of Saturday, 15 November 2025.
He was identified as the MD/CEO of Franc CJ Ibemesi Nig. Ltd.
“After the arrest, operatives moved him to a warehouse at 7 Pius Ezeobi Street, off Ago Palace Way, where they recovered 42 jumbo bags and four cartons of Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing a total of 1,762.8 kilograms.
“Cash seized from him at the point of his arrest included $11,600, 2,000 British Pounds, 2,200 Euros and 50 Canadian dollars”, the statement read in part.
Skunk seizure in Osun forest
The NDLEA said another major syndicate operating in the Araromi-Okeodo forest reserve in Ife South LGA, Osun State, was intercepted earlier in the week. Operatives who had monitored the camp for days seized 11,135 kilograms of processed skunk on Tuesday, 11 November.
Two trucks, a Volvo (WWR 29 XA) and a Mercedes (AWK 713 YZ), were blocked while attempting to move the drugs to other parts of the country.
Seven suspects are currently in custody: Lucky Abiodun, Julius Amos, Victor Ngbikili, Sunday Oduegwu, Ibrahim Akanni, Eze Godstime and Fred Ifeanyichukwu.
Multiple arrests and seizures across states
The agency reported several other seizures across Edo, Ogun, Taraba, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Lagos and Kwara states.
- In Edo, 1,902.1 kilograms of skunk were intercepted across bush paths, forests and highways. Two suspects, Felix Edah and Lucky Abagha, were arrested in separate operations involving Mercedes vehicles loaded with drugs.
- In Ogun, four men identified as Micheal Okoh, Offor Agada, Raphael Nkemjika and Nwabueze Franklin were arrested along the Ijebu-Ode expressway with 68 kilograms of skunk and 3.150 kilograms of methamphetamine.
- In Taraba, Danjuma Tukura was caught with 172 kilograms of skunk in Ardo Kola LGA, while Wisdom Titus was arrested in Takum with 84 kilograms.
- In Adamawa, operatives recovered 396,000 tramadol capsules from a suspect, Ahmed Isyaku Nda, at the Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola. Another operation in Nasarawa led to the evacuation of 785 kilograms of skunk from a warehouse belonging to a dealer currently on the run.
- In Lagos, two suspects, Jamiu Kunle Kardoso and Oriyomi Waliu, were found with 130 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 65.150 kilograms in Surulere. Taofeek Moraina was also arrested in Oyingbo while conveying 141 kilograms of Ghana Loud.
- In Kwara, officers intercepted a truck carrying 197 blocks of skunk weighing 78.565 kilograms and 155 cartons of rubber solution along the Ilorin–Jebba expressway. The driver, Umar Yakubu, was detained. Another suspect, Ibrahim Bello, was arrested in Ilorin after 20 blocks of skunk were found hidden inside a 50-litre jerrycan in a commercial bus.
More insights
The agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation drive nationwide during the week. Schools in Zamfara, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Enugu, Lagos, and Ogun hosted lectures aimed at educating students and staff on drug abuse prevention.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig Gen Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers involved in the various operations and encouraged them to sustain the agency’s current approach to drug control.
