The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has raided a newly opened hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, seizing illicit drugs valued at over N1.042bn.
According to the spokesperson of the agency, Femi Babafemi, acting on intelligence, NDLEA operatives stormed The Hook Hotel — also known as Caesar Hotel and Lounge — located at 16 Waziri Ibrahim Street, off Elsie Femi Pearse Street, on Friday, and Saturday.
After hours of searching the 80-room, five-storey building, the officers recovered 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 417.3 kilograms.
Three suspects — Eze Ayitu, Ofuokwu Samuel, and Emmanuel Ameh — were arrested during the operation, while two others, identified as Noble Philip and Kenneth, remain at large.
In addition to the drugs, several luxury vehicles and household items suspected to be proceeds of the drug trade were recovered from the premises. These include a Toyota Prado Land Cruiser, Toyota Sienna, Volkswagen delivery van, Kia Cerato, Grand Caravan Dodge, 74 new television sets, 10 used TVs, and 13 refrigerators.
“An 80-room new hotel in Victoria Island Lagos used as cover for distributing illicit substances has been raided by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) who after hours of combing the rooms recovered 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis with a total weight of 417.3 kilograms worth One Billion Forty-Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N1,042,500,000) only in street value,” Babafemi stated.
“At least, three suspects: Eze Ayitu; Ofuokwu Samuel; and Emmanuel Ameh were arrested in the course of the operation at the five-storey hotel building between Friday 25th and Saturday 26th April 2025 while two other suspects: Noble Philip and his partner Kenneth are currently at large.
“Items suspected to be proceeds of illicit drug trade recovered from the premises housing The Hook Hotel also known as Caesar Hotel and Caesar Lounge located at 16 Waziri Ibrahim street, off Elsie Femi Pearse street, Victoria Island, Lagos, include: Toyota Prado Landcruiser Jeep (Lagos AKD 472 OZ); Toyota Sienna Vehicle (Lagos KJA 79 HJ); Volkswagen Delivery Van (Lagos AAA 525 JE); Kia Cerato Car (Lagos BDG 860 GQ); Grand Caravan Dodge (Lagos APP 847 YF); 74 new TV sets; 10 used TV sets; and 13 refrigerators, among others.”
In a separate operation in Jigawa and Kano States on Wednesday, NDLEA officers intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle transporting 200,000 pills of Tramadol 250mg and 217,500 capsules of Pregabalin. Two suspects — Abba Ibrahim (28) and Shuaibu Umar (29) — were arrested during the roadside operation in Gumel town.
Follow-up investigations led to the arrest of the supplier, Jamilu Muhammad (41), in Kano, and the recovery of an additional 1.58 million tramadol pills, bringing the total seizure to over 2 million pills.
Meanwhile, in Lagos, NDLEA’s Directorate of Operations and General Investigation intercepted a shipment of 46 wraps of cocaine hidden inside body cream destined for Saudi Arabia. The seizure weighed 547 grams.
Another shipment consisting of 1.8kg of pentazocine injection and 60 grams of bromazepam tablets bound for Canada was also intercepted on the same day at a courier firm.
Cross-border drug trafficking attempts were also foiled at the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos. Last Sunday, three Ghanaian women — Haziza Zubairu (42), Samirat Mustapha (43), and Jamila Salifu (26) — were arrested while attempting to smuggle 4.8 kilograms of Ghana Loud cannabis into Nigeria.
In Kano, a 60-year-old woman, Safiya Shamsu, was arrested in Samegu area of Kumbotso LGA with 5.6 kilograms of skunk, while another suspect, Muntari Labaran (35), was apprehended with 100 litres of codeine syrup.
Further south, NDLEA operatives destroyed 3,814.9 kilograms of cannabis on two farms in Ugbodu community, Ovia North East LGA of Edo State. Three suspects — Samuel Samson (26), Daniel Peter (20), and Abel Edah (31) — were arrested during the raid.
Beyond enforcement, the NDLEA also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization programs across the country, delivering lectures to students and community groups in Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Anambra States, and paying an advocacy visit to the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, HRM Oba Kabir Adewale Shotobi.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers involved for their dedication and emphasized the importance of balancing drug supply reduction with demand reduction efforts nationwide.
