NDLEA Exposes Sh*cking Smuggling Trick — Drugs Found Inside Frozen Snails And Electric Bulbs

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted multiple consignments of illicit drugs ingeniously concealed in frozen snails, electrical bulbs, and female clothing. The packages were reportedly bound for the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, said the operations were carried out at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) and a courier company in Lagos.

According to Babafemi, two suspects linked to the trafficking attempts have been arrested. One of the suspects, Boladale Riliwan, a cargo agent, was apprehended on October 7, 2025, after 15 parcels of cannabis (skunk) were discovered hidden inside 10 giant rechargeable electrical bulbs he presented for air freight to the DRC at the airport’s export shed.

In a similar operation, NDLEA officers arrested 48-year-old Olawale Oyebola Hakeemot, a UK-based Public Health Assistant, on October 12, 2025, at the departure hall of Terminal 2, MMIA, Ikeja. Oyebola was reportedly caught with 2,300 pills of Tramadol 225mg concealed within frozen snails while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Manchester, United Kingdom.

Babafemi further disclosed that on October 16, 2025, NDLEA operatives thwarted another smuggling attempt involving 810 pills of bromazepam hidden in female clothes destined for the United States through a courier company in Lagos.

In a separate development, NDLEA officers intercepted Bello Buba on October 12, 2025, at a checkpoint in Namtari, Yola South Local Government Area, while driving from the Benin Republic into Nigeria. A search of his Honda Civic revealed 38,270 pills of tramadol concealed in the spare tyre, boot, and door compartments.

The NDLEA also carried out large-scale raids and destruction of drug farms across several states. In Ilawe-Ekiti, Ekiti State, operatives destroyed 53,250 kilograms of cannabis cultivated on 21.3 hectares of farmland and seized an additional 1,140 kilograms packed in 70 bags. Three suspects — Matthew Emmanuel (26), James Moses (27), and Israel Samuel (20) — were arrested during the operation, which took place between October 12 and 13.

Similarly, NDLEA officers destroyed 17,400 kilograms of skunk on a 6.96-hectare plantation in Aponmu Forest Reserve, Akure, Ondo State, on October 12.

In Oyo State, four suspects — Aliyu Muhammed (50), Babarinde Segun (32), Ogunbiyi Sanjo (30), and Ajani Oluro (30) — were arrested with 596 kilograms of cannabis at Apata-Ako, Igboora, while Jacob Afolabi (30) and Salako Oluwatobi (25) were caught with 273 kilograms of the same substance in Odo-Oyan, Igangan, on October 16.

Further arrests were made across Ogun, Imo, and Enugu States, with NDLEA operatives recovering 88 kilograms of skunk from Joseph Andrew in Ona–Imeko, 13,000 pills of opioids from Festus Udoh (42) along the Onitsha–Owerri Road, and 74.5 kilograms of cannabis from the residence of Joseph Chukwujamaa in Umuogbo–Agu village, Enugu, on October 18.

Additionally, NDLEA officers recovered 11 bags of skunk weighing 117 kilograms from the hideout of Ramoni Olukowi in the Mushin area of Lagos on October 18. In a joint operation with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies at the Apapa Port, the NDLEA also intercepted a container carrying 80,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup shipped from India, which had been placed under surveillance.