Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have seized illegal substances valued at ₦1.042 billion during a raid on an 80-room hotel on Victoria Island, in the Centre of Excellence (Lagos), suspected of serving as a major distribution center.
Following a thorough search conducted between Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26, 2025, NDLEA officials recovered 589 bags of “Canadian Loud,” a potent variant of cannabis, with a combined weight of 417.3 kilograms. The operation carried out at The Hook Hotel — also known as Caesar Hotel and Caesar Lounge — located at 16 Waziri Ibrahim Street, off Elsie Femi Pearse Street, led to the arrest of three individuals: Eze Ayitu, Ofuokwu Samuel, and Emmanuel Ameh.
Two other suspects, identified as Noble Philip and his associate Kenneth, evaded capture and are currently being sought.
Vehicles and household items believed to be proceeds of the drug trade were also seized from the premises. These included a Toyota Prado Land Cruiser (Lagos AKD 472 OZ), a Toyota Sienna (Lagos KJA 79 HJ), a Volkswagen Delivery Van (Lagos AAA 525 JE), a Kia Cerato (Lagos BDG 860 GQ), and a Grand Caravan Dodge (Lagos APP 847 YF). Other recovered items were 74 brand-new television sets, 10 used televisions, and 13 refrigerators, among others.
The agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the operation in a statement issued on Sunday.
NDLEA Seizes Over Two Million Pills of Opioids in Jigawa, Kano Operations
In a separate operation, NDLEA officers intercepted a major consignment of opioids en route from the Centre of Commerce (Kano) to the Niger Republic and the Pride of the Sahel (Yobe), seizing a large quantity of controlled drugs.
Acting on credible intelligence, the agency’s team on patrol along the Kano-Ringim road in Gumel town, in The New World (Jigawa State?, halted a Toyota Sienna vehicle bearing registration number ABJ 182 NW around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 23. Two suspects, Abba Ibrahim, 28, and Shuaibu Umar, 29, were apprehended. A total of 200,000 tramadol 250mg pills and 217,500 pregabalin capsules were found in the vehicle.
A follow-up operation in the Centre of Commerce (Kano) led to the arrest of Jamilu Muhammad, 41, at his residence in Mil Tara, Layin Technical area. Further searches uncovered an additional 1,584,000 pills of tramadol 250mg, hidden in a Nissan 18-seater bus (DAL 372 XA) and inside a room within the property.
The combined total of seized opioids from the operations in The New World (Jigawa) and Centre of Commerce (Kano) stands at 2,001,500 pills.
