The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted two consignments of synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Colorado or “Colos”, concealed in consolidated cargoes from the United Kingdom, recovering more than 2.3 tonnes of assorted illicit drugs in operations across several states.
The operations, which resulted in the arrest of a real estate agent, a 70-year-old woman and several other suspects, were conducted in Lagos, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Kaduna, Plateau, Bayelsa and Kano states.
At the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a UK-bound consignment containing 27 parcels of Colorado weighing 32.20kg.
A real estate agent, Abideen Jide Salami, was arrested on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, after allegedly arriving to collect a large luggage containing the illicit substance with a secret collection code reportedly sent to him by his brother in the UK.
In a follow-up operation linked to another UK consignment, operatives arrested 44-year-old Nurudeen Abiodun Kadiri after recovering another 12.25kg of Colorado.
Kadiri reportedly told investigators that his brother in the UK sent the consignment to him.
Meanwhile, the agency’s Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted another consignment of Colorado concealed inside music speakers at Maza Maza motor park in Lagos.
The consignment, allegedly destined for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and ultimately Liberia, contained three packs of Colorado.
A 41-year-old tour agent, Ifeanyi Obed Augustine, and the alleged owner of the consignment, 46-year-old Obasi Ugochuckwu, were arrested following a sting operation at a nearby eatery.