NDLEA intercepts meth consignments from South Africa, hidden in cereals packs

**Arrest American Professional Basketball Player over Shipment of Loud. **Busts Gun Factory in Kaduna, Nabs Woman with 196 AK-47 Ammunition **Seizes Tons of Illicit Drugs After Raids in Lagos, Ondo, Delta, Edo, Osun. By: Kingsley Omonobi Fhe National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said on Sunday that it’s operatives have intercepted 25.05 kilograms consignment of methamphetamine concealed in packs of assorted breakfast cereals imported from South Africa through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, and arrested the 56-year-old trafficker who has lived in South Africa for over two decades under a stolen identity.

In another interception at the same airport, an American professional basketball player was arrested over a 33.95kg shipment of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, from Thailand, while a factory producing illegal firearms was busted in Kaduna while tons of assorted illicit substances were seized in raids across Lagos, Ondo, Delta, Edo and Osun states.

Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi said the meth suspect, Omokan Isaac Babatope, whose real name is Chinedu Onwude, was arrested on Wednesday 11th November 2026 at the arrival hall of Terminal II of the Lagos airport upon his return from South Africa. “A thorough search of his two travelling boxes led to the recovery of twenty-five parcels of a white crystalline substance, which tested positive for methamphetamine with a total weight of 25.05kg.

“The parcels had been carefully concealed inside packs of assorted breakfast cereals and cereal-based food products in a bid to beat security screening. “The 56-year-old suspect holds both Nigerian and South African passports and has been resident in South Africa for over 24 years. “During preliminary interview, he confessed that he adopted the name Omokan Isaac Babatope after using forged documents to gain entry into South Africa and had continued to use that identity ever since.

“He further stated that he was contracted by a South Africa-based man, Obiora Okoye, to deliver the illicit consignment in Nigeria for a fee of Twenty Thousand South African Rands (R20,000). Also, on Wednesday 11th November, acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives at the MMIA intercepted a 28-year-old American citizen, Greene Da’monte Khiree, who arrived in Lagos aboard an Emirates Airline flight from Thailand via Dubai.

The suspect, who was placed under discreet surveillance upon arrival, was observed abandoning his two checked-in bags before attempting to exit the airport with only his carry-on luggage. He was promptly apprehended at the airport car park. A search of the two abandoned bags, both bearing his name tag, revealed sixteen parcels of Loud in each, totalling thirty-two parcels with a combined weight of 33.95 kilograms.

A tracking device was also recovered from the bags. The suspect, a native of Savannah, Georgia, USA, who claimed he has lived in Thailand since October 2025 where he plays professional basketball, said he came to Nigeria on holiday to build networks for his basketball career. A forensic examination of his mobile phone revealed information pointing to his knowledge of and involvement in the drug trafficking activity.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday 10th November arrested a 33-year-old man, Taiwo Adebayo Aderoju, in an intelligence-led operation at Ebute Metta, where 119.71kg of cannabis sativa was recovered from him. On Saturday 14th November, a joint operation in the Ajah area of the state led to the recovery of 78.8kg cannabis; 2.5 litres of skuchies; 6.8 litres of codeine syrup; 23 grams of Rohypnol; 478 grams of tramadol; 10.6kg of nitrous oxide and 714 grams of pregabalin from a silver Toyota Sienna abandoned by a suspect who fled on sighting the operatives.

“In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives on Monday 9th November raided Sabon Garin Kangin, where they busted a factory used for the local fabrication of firearms and arrested a 45-year-old man, Sagiru Musa. Items recovered from the factory include seventeen locally made Dane guns, two pistols, twenty-five Dane gun pipes and other materials used in manufacturing firearms.

This is even as officers on patrol at Jere, along Abuja-Kaduna expressway on Friday 13th November intercepted a 31-year-old woman, Tabara Dauda conveying 196 AK-47 live ammunition and Six Hundred and Seventy Five Thousand Naira (N675,000.00) cash. In a separate operation at Grace Land, Sabon Gari LGA, on Wednesday 11th November, a 30-year-old man, Samson Chibuike Andebe, was arrested with 3,840 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 2.5kg.

Also, not less than 499.3 kilograms of skunk were recovered from two suspects: Celestine Chime, 34, and Chibueze Christ, 36, when their hideout at Gonin-Gora area of Kaduna was raided by NDLEA operatives on Saturday 14th November. In Ondo State, NDLEA officers on Tuesday 10th November arrested two suspects: Victor William, 42, and Akeem Azeez, 27, at Olabi village bush after they brought out bags of the illi