In a sweeping operation targeting drug trafficking and production, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a rising music artist and uncovered a clandestine laboratory manufacturing synthetic cannabis in Lagos. The raids mark a significant escalation in Nigeria’s fight against narcotics.
NDLEA Cracks Down on Illicit Drug Operations in Lagos
The NDLEA has intensified its anti-drug efforts with the arrest of Godspower George Osahenrumwen, popularly known as Steady Boy, a 20-year-old musician apprehended in Lekki, Lagos. He was allegedly attempting to receive a shipment of “Loud”—a potent strain of cannabis—concealed inside bathtubs and smuggled from the United States via DHL The Punch.
Simultaneously, NDLEA operatives raided a residential building in Ajao Estate, Isolo, where they discovered a secret laboratory producing Colorado (Colos), a synthetic variant of cannabis. The lab was reportedly operated by Stephen Kelechi Imoh, a 30-year-old suspect arrested during the raid. The operation followed months of surveillance and intelligence gathering after earlier interceptions of Colorado consignments in Lagos Channels Television Vanguard.
Recovered items from the lab included:
16.2kg of freshly cooked Colos
91 litres of Dibromobutane
1.7kg of adb-chmnaca Cannabinol
Various precursor chemicals Channels Television Vanguard
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed that the discovery signals a shift from importation to local production of synthetic cannabis, raising concerns about the growing sophistication of drug networks in Nigeria.
The agency also arrested another suspect, Afeez Salisu (alias Malu), in Mushin with 16.4kg of Ghana Loud and bottles of Colorado, further highlighting the scale of the crackdown Vanguard.
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