The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 28-year-old American professional basketball player at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after allegedly attempting to abandon two travelling bags containing 33.95 kilogrammes of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis imported from Thailand.
The agency also intercepted 25.05 kilogrammes of methamphetamine concealed in breakfast cereal packs imported from South Africa, uncovered an illegal firearms manufacturing factory in Kaduna State and seized 196 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition in a series of operations targeting drug trafficking and related criminal activities across the country.
The arrests formed part of a nationwide crackdown that also resulted in the recovery of substantial quantities of cannabis, tramadol, codeine syrup and other controlled substances in Lagos, Kaduna, Ondo, Delta, Edo and Osun states.
In a statement issued on Sunday, NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi identified the American suspect as Greene Da’monte Khiree, who was arrested last Wednesday after arriving in Lagos aboard an Emirates Airline flight from Thailand through Dubai.
According to Babafemi, NDLEA operatives placed the suspect under discreet surveillance upon his arrival and observed him abandoning his two checked-in bags before attempting to leave the airport with only his carry-on luggage.
He was subsequently apprehended at the airport car park.
A search of the abandoned bags, which bore his name tags, reportedly uncovered 32 parcels of Loud weighing 33.95 kilogrammes, alongside a tracking device.
The agency said the suspect, a native of Savannah, Georgia, in the United States, told investigators that he had been living in Thailand since October 2025, where he played professional basketball.
He reportedly claimed that he travelled to Nigeria on holiday and intended to establish contacts that could advance his basketball career.
However, the NDLEA said a forensic examination of his mobile phone revealed information suggesting that he had knowledge of and was involved in the alleged drug trafficking operation.
The agency did not disclose the contents of the information recovered from the device.
In a separate operation at the same airport last Wednesday, NDLEA operatives arrested a 56-year-old Nigerian, identified as Omokan Isaac Babatope, whose real name the agency gave as Chinedu Onwude, over the alleged importation of 25.05 kilogrammes of methamphetamine from South Africa.
Babafemi said the suspect was arrested at the arrival hall of Terminal II after returning from South Africa.
A search of his two travelling boxes reportedly revealed 25 parcels of a white crystalline substance concealed inside packs of assorted breakfast cereals and cereal-based food products.
The substance subsequently tested positive for methamphetamine.
According to the NDLEA, preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect possessed Nigerian and South African passports and had lived in South Africa for more than 24 years under an assumed identity.
The agency alleged that he adopted the name Omokan Isaac Babatope after using forged documents to enter South Africa and continued to operate under that identity.
The suspect reportedly told investigators that a South Africa-based individual identified as Obiora Okoye contracted him to deliver the consignment in Nigeria for 20,000 South African rand.
The NDLEA said the interception demonstrated the increasingly elaborate concealment methods used by international drug trafficking networks attempting to evade airport security.
Beyond the international drug seizures, the agency announced the discovery of an illegal firearms manufacturing facility in Kaduna State.
According to Babafemi, operatives raided the facility at Sabon Garin Kangin on November 9 and arrested a 45-year-old suspect, Sagiru Musa.
Items recovered during the operation included 17 locally fabricated Dane guns, two pistols, 25 Dane gun pipes and other materials allegedly used in manufacturing firearms.
In another operation along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, NDLEA officers on patrol at Jere intercepted a 31-year-old woman, Tabara Dauda, on Friday.
The agency said she was found with 196 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition and ₦675,000 in cash.
The discovery of the firearms factory and ammunition formed part of the agency’s wider enforcement activities, which it said increasingly revealed connections between illicit drug distribution and other forms of criminality.
Also in Kaduna, operatives arrested a 30-year-old man, Samson Andebe, at Grace Land in Sabon Gari Local Government Area, with 3,840 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 2.5 kilogrammes.
Another raid on a suspected drug hideout in Gonin-Gora on November 14 led to the arrest of Celestine Chime, 34, and Chibueze Christ, 36.
The NDLEA said 499.3 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, were recovered during the operation.
In Lagos, a 33-year-old suspect, Taiwo Aderoju, was arrested at Ebute Metta on November 10 with 119.71 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa.
A separate operation in Ajah on Saturday led to the recovery of several illicit substances from a silver Toyota Sienna allegedly abandoned by a fleeing suspect.
The recovered items included 78.8 kilogrammes of cannabis, 2.5 litres of skuchies, 6.8 litres of codeine syrup, 23 grammes of Rohypnol, 478 grammes of tramadol, 10.6 kilogrammes of nitrous oxide and 714 grammes of pregabalin.
The agency said investigations were continuing to establish the identity and whereabouts of the suspect who allegedly abandoned the vehicle.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Victor William, 42, and Akeem Azeez, 27, at Olabi village bush last Wednesday after they allegedly brought out bags of cannabis for sale.
The arrests reportedly led officers to a storage facility where 50 bags of cannabis weighing 560 kilogrammes were recovered.
Another operation at a cannabis farm in Ipele forest last Friday resulted in the arrest of three suspects identified as Godwin Benson, 30; Muhammed Awwal, 34; and James Timothy, 18.
The agency said 122 kilogrammes of cannabis were recovered during the raid.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 43-year-old woman, Esther Igba, at Alihame, Agbor, in Ika South Local Government Area, last Thursday.
The agency said the suspect was found with 255.670 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa and 1.5 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds.
Earlier, on November 10, officers arrested a 25-year-old suspected drug distributor, Aaron Thomas, popularly known as Ibori, at Oguato in Ughelli South Local Government Area.
According to the NDLEA, the suspect had been under surveillance for more than six months before his arrest.
The agency described him as a major illicit drug distributor who allegedly operated a notorious bush bar.
Items reportedly recovered from him included 360 grammes of cannabis, 12.7 litres of codeine syrup, 500 grammes of tramadol 100mg, 90 grammes of tramadol 200mg, 215 grammes of swinol and 135 grammes of Molly, also known as MDMA.
In Osun State, operatives conducting a cannabis farm destruction exercise at Owena Forest Reserve arrested two suspects, Eze Chidiebere, 23, and Nwaoge Ugochukwu, 24.
The agency said 86 kilogrammes of cannabis were recovered from the suspects.
A related operation in the same forest reserve led to the arrest of a 40-year-old man, Ugwu Chukwuemeka, with 28 kilogrammes of dried cannabis and 21 kilogrammes of fresh cannabis leaves.
His 0.855-hectare cannabis farm, estimated by the agency to contain 2,137.5 kilogrammes of the plant, was subsequently destroyed.
In Edo State, weeks of surveillance on suspected illicit drug activities in Benin City culminated in a raid on Jamila Street, Ikpoba Hill, on November 10.
The operation led to the arrest of a 39-year-old woman, Blessing Chukwudi.
According to the NDLEA, officers recovered 22 compressed parcels of Loud weighing 14 kilogrammes, 65 grammes of Colorado and 73 grammes of methamphetamine from the suspect.
Meanwhile, the agency said it had sustained its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign in schools, worship centres and communities across the country.
The awareness activities were conducted in institutions and communities across Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Plateau and Kano states, as part of efforts to discourage drug abuse and promote public participation in the fight against illicit substances.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers and personnel involved in the operations, particularly those responsible for the airport interceptions and the discovery of the firearms factory.
Marwa said the seizure of methamphetamine concealed in breakfast cereal packs demonstrated that traffickers could not evade detection simply by adopting sophisticated concealment techniques.
He also described the discovery of the illegal firearms manufacturing facility in Kaduna as an indication of the relationship between illicit drug activities and violent crime.
The NDLEA chairman urged officers across the country to sustain the momentum of enforcement operations while strengthening intelligence gathering and collaboration with relevant security agencies.
He stressed that the fight against drug trafficking required a combination of supply reduction, public education and community engagement.
According to him, sustained enforcement must be accompanied by efforts to reduce demand for illicit drugs, particularly among young people.
The agency maintained that its nationwide operations would continue to target trafficking networks, drug distribution centres and other criminal activities associated with the illicit drug trade.
Michael Olugbode, Abuja
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