NDLEA Intercepts Cocaine Inside Religious Books, Arrests 15 Suspects
Barely a week after announcing the trafficking of drugs through giant speakers, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Sunday said, illicit drugs are now shipped through religious books.
The confiscated book titled “Stories of the Prophets” was written by AI Imam Ibn Kathir.
The Agency also announced the arrest of 15 suspects and the seizure of over 5,700kg quantities of hard drugs in coordinated operations across Katsina, Anambra, Lagos, Bayelsa, Kano, and Kaduna State between Sunday, April 13 and Friday, April 18, 2025.
The drugs include Skunk, cocaine, loud, methamphetamine, heroin, skushi (liquid form), and 31, 950 tramadol & diazepam pills.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), said NDLEA operatives in Kano State on Sunday, April 13 intercepted Muhammad Mohammed, a 22-year-old alleged supplier of illicit substances to bandits.
Mohammed was arrested on patrol along the Bichi–Kano road with 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection tied to his thigh and private part using Sellotape, while travelling to Katsina.
That same day, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, 43, was apprehended at the Research Rimin Kebe area of Nasarawa, Kano, possessing 68 blocks of skunk weighing 30kg.
On Monday, April 14, at Tincan Seaport, Lagos, NDLEA officers arrested Basorun Usman Kayode, 40, who had been on the run for two years.
Kayode was linked to a 2023 seizure of 107kg of Loud imported from Canada.
On the same day, Dauda Yakubu, a known distributor of illicit drugs within the seaport community, was also arrested.
By Tuesday, April 15, the agency said multiple seizures were made in Lagos and Osun States, citing the most intriguing, as the confiscation of 500 grams of cocaine concealed in 20 religious books.
“In Lagos, officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted 500 grams of cocaine concealed in 20 religious books bound for Saudi Arabia at a courier company.
“Later that day, they uncovered 2.8kg of Loud cannabis in another shipment arriving from the United States.
“In Osogbo, Osun State, Ajala Mercy, 27, was arrested at her residence in Dada Estate, Halleluyah area, with 43 litres of skushi, a concoction of black currant, cannabis, and opioids,” Marwa said.
On Wednesday, April 16, NDLEA raided a house on Major General Isaiah Allison Street, Opolo, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where they recovered 557.2kg of skunk, 5.6kg of methamphetamine, and 29.8 grams of heroin.
The four suspects arrested were identified as Sarimiye Suwa Kurtis (46), Roland Prosper (34), Sarimiye Tare Paul (45), and Fidelis Ugbesla (46).
The next day, Thursday, April 17, in Surulere, Lagos, NDLEA operatives seized 1,100kg of skunk from a delivery van and arrested the driver, Ismail Abdullahi.
On Friday, April 18, operations continued across the Kaduna and Kebbi States.
In Zaria, Kaduna State, officers raided the hideout of Ike Ani, 30, recovering 31,950 pills of tramadol 225mg and diazepam.
Meanwhile, in Kebbi State, a vehicle loaded with charcoal bags from Malabil, Benin Republic, was intercepted along Bagudo Road, and 97kg of skunk concealed in the sacks was recovered.
Three suspects identified as Abubakar Ibrahim (50), Mustapha Aliyu (32), and Bashar Lawali (28) were arrested.
Elsewhere, in Abatete, Anambra State, Okafor Marcel, 48, was arrested with 11.5kg of skunk.
In Edo State, NDLEA officers raided two cannabis farms in Egbeta Forest, Ovia North East LGA, where they destroyed 3,717.8625kg of cannabis cultivated on 1.487145 hectares of land and recovered 136.5kg of processed cannabis.
Marwa commended the officers across the DOGI, Kano, Lagos, Kaduna, Kebbi, Osun, Zone 13, Edo, and Tincan Commands for their commitment to drug supply reduction.
NDLEA Intercepts Cocaine Inside Religious Books, Arrests 15 Suspects is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
