Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered a clandestine laboratory producing “Colos,” a synthetic strain of cannabis, in a residential building located at Ajao Estate, Isolo, Lagos. The operation led to the arrest of a 30-year-old suspect, Stephen Kelechi Imoh, and the recovery of large quantities of freshly cooked Colos and precursor chemicals used in the drug’s production.

According to the agency, the breakthrough followed months of intelligence gathering on the existence of illegal Colos laboratories in Lagos after officers intercepted locally produced consignments in March and May 2025 — an indication that the psychoactive substance, previously imported, was being manufactured within the country.

The decisive raid, conducted on Thursday, October 30, 2025, exposed a fully equipped production site. Items recovered included 16.2 kilograms of freshly cooked Colos, 1.7 kilograms of ADB-CHMNACA Cannabinol, 4.5 kilograms of potassium carbonate, and 91 litres of dibromobutane.

In a related operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, November 1, 2025, raided the hideout of a suspected drug dealer, Afeez Salisu (alias Malu), in Mushin. Sixteen compressed blocks of Ghana Loud, along with designer sachets and bottles of Colorado weighing 16.4 kilograms, were seized.

Similarly, a 20-year-old music artist, Godspower George Osahenrumwen, popularly known as Steady Boy, was arrested on Thursday, October 30, while attempting to receive a large consignment of Loud cannabis concealed in three cartons of bathtubs shipped from New York, United States. The shipment, which arrived at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, on October 28, contained 140 bags of Loud weighing 77.2 kilograms. The artist was apprehended at Bougain Villa, Primewater Gardens 2, Lekki, Lagos, while taking delivery on behalf of a syndicate led by his manager, Zion Osazee Omigie (a.k.a Zee Money), who remains at large.

Across other states, NDLEA operatives recorded multiple interceptions and arrests. In Kaduna, officers on patrol along the Abuja–Jos highway on October 26 intercepted 84,710 capsules of tramadol en route from Onitsha to Bauchi. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Musa Abdulkarim, 27, in Bauchi. Two days later, another suspect, Hamza Musa, 47, was arrested at the Abuja–Kaduna tollgate with 32,946 bottles of Akuskura, a new psychoactive substance, while Saidu Nafiu, 30, was caught with 131.5 kilograms of skunk in Igabi LGA, Kaduna.

In Ogun State, NDLEA officers arrested three suspects — Seun Olaniyi (24), Rauf Asogba (28), and Ayinla Adeniyi (50) — along Abiola Way, Abeokuta, with 1,779 kilograms of skunk concealed in a bus traced from Benin Republic. In Bauchi, Jamilu Mustapha (a.k.a Last Card), 46, was arrested with 596.4 kilograms of skunk at Nasaru town, Ningi LGA.

The same day, operatives in Kwara State intercepted a truck at Oko-Olowo, Ilorin, carrying 532,600 pills of tramadol and Exol-5, leading to the arrest of Halilu Amiru, Rabiu Maikudi, and Ibrahim Mati. In Edo State, two Toyota Sienna buses conveying 1,455 kilograms of skunk were impounded in Uhunmwode LGA.

In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,829 kilograms of skunk from two locations linked to Mrs. Ige Olarewaju, 32, in Ogbese, and arrested Samuel Adebayo with 737 kilograms of the same substance in Akure. Meanwhile, Ige Oluwale, 50, was arrested in Badagry, Lagos, with 76.5 litres of skuchies, a mixture of blackcurrant, skunk, and opioids.

In Taraba State, operatives arrested Musbahu Abdullahi (28) and Saleiman Ahmed (25) with 30,370 tramadol pills and 177 grams of methamphetamine while transporting drugs from Onitsha to Yola.

Beyond enforcement, NDLEA commands nationwide continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in schools, religious institutions, workplaces, and communities. Outreach efforts included lectures at Aroje/Abaa Community High School, Ogbomoso (Oyo State); Amazing Flower Secondary School, Ikorodu (Lagos); Government Day Secondary School, Ilelah (Sokoto); and Royal Star Academy, Bebeji (Kano State), among others.

Commending officers for their resilience and professionalism, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to dismantling drug syndicates nationwide. He vowed that all proceeds and assets traceable to such criminal enterprises would be forfeited to the Federal Government.