The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a shipment of cocaine concealed in 20 sets of religious books destined for Saudi Arabia.
The agency said the illicit drug was discovered during a routine search of outbound cargo by its operatives.
According to a statement released on Sunday, April 20, by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the consignment, which contained 20 parcels of cocaine weighing a total of 500 grams, was uncovered on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
“The drugs were carefully hidden within the pages of religious books at a courier company in Lagos.”
The operation was carried out by officers from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) who were screening export packages bound for Saudi Arabia.
Babafemi noted that the concealment method was particularly deceptive, as the books were outwardly innocent-looking religious texts.
“In another operation on the same day at a different courier company, NDLEA officers also intercepted five parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, weighing 2.8 kilograms.
“The packages were hidden in a carton that had arrived from the United States, “Babafemi added.
Ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking
The NDLEA said the discoveries are part of ongoing efforts to intercept illicit drug shipments and prevent traffickers from exploiting courier services for cross-border drug smuggling. Investigations into the consignments are ongoing, the agency said.
According to Babafemi, in Kano, a 22-year-old supplier of illicit substances to bandits, Muhammad Mohammed, has also been arrested by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Bichi — Kano road while heading to Katsina with 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection tied to his thigh and private part with Cello tape.
“He was intercepted on Sunday, April 13th, while another suspect, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, 43, was nabbed the same day at Research Rimin Kebe area of Nasarawa, Kano, with 68 blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 30kg.
“At another courier company in Lagos, on April 15th, 2025, NDLEA officers intercepted five parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 2.8 kilograms, hidden in a carton coming from the United States of America.”
Large drug seizures in Bayelsa and Lagos
Babafemi also revealed that in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, not less than 557.2kg of skunk, 5.6kg of methamphetamine, and 29.8grams of heroin were recovered from a house along Major General Isaiah Alison Street, Opolo, where four suspects were arrested when NDLEA operatives raided the premises on Wednesday, April 16th.
“The four suspects arrested during the raid include Sarimiye Suwa Kurtis, 46; Roland Prosper, 34; Sarimiye Tare Paul, 45; and Fidelis Ugbesla, 46.
“Also in Lagos, a total of 1,100 kilograms of skunk were seized from a delivery van with the driver, Ismail Abdullahi, arrested in the Surulere area on Thursday, April 17th, by NDLEA.
“Operatives in Kaduna on Friday, April 18th, raided the hideout of a suspect, Ike Ani, 30, in Zaria, where no fewer than 31,950 pills of tramadol 225mg and diazepam were recovered,” he stated.
Meanwhile, NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued with sensitization lectures across schools, workplaces, and religious centers nationwide.
