A 49-year-old suspected drug trafficker, who allegedly posed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) to beat security checkpoints, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Delta State.
This is as NDLEA operatives also intercepted 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 603.75 kilogrammes and valued at N1.811 billion.
The suspected fake police officer, Innocent Ekpe, was arrested alongside his accomplice, 39-year-old Nduka Joseph, on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba, Delta State.
Ekpe was allegedly using the identity of one Godwin Emeka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, and carrying a forged police identification card to evade scrutiny at security checkpoints while transporting illicit drugs.
NDLEA operatives reportedly recovered 292.48 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in Ekpe’s silver Toyota Sienna bus.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, investigation showed that the suspect had allegedly paraded himself as a senior police officer to facilitate the movement of his illicit consignments.
At the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos, the operatives intercepted 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 603.75 kilogrammes and valued at N1.811 billion.
The consignment was intercepted after a 40-foot container shipped from Montreal, Canada, arrived at the port on September 12.
The container was placed under intensive monitoring following processed intelligence and subjected to a joint physical examination by NDLEA operatives, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies on Wednesday, September 16.
The search uncovered the 1,200 parcels concealed inside 31 black jumbo bags loaded within two Toyota Sienna vehicles in the container.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives also arrested 45-year-old Matthew Ossai, who allegedly used his auto-repair workshop along Agbor Road, Benin City, as a cover for storing illicit drugs.
Officers recovered 48 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud and 152 grammes of methamphetamine from the location.
In Niger State, three young suspects—Bashir Usman, 20; Abubakar Nuhu, 18; and Abdulrahman Abdulwahab, 18—were arrested along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway at Chachi, Tafa Local Government Area, with two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles, a magazine, a locally made pistol with a magazine and nine rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Similarly, two suspects, Aminu Isyaku, 23, and Jamilu Habibu, 25, were arrested along the Abaji-Abuja Highway with more than 1.1 million assorted tramadol tablets and capsules, codeine syrup, methamphetamine and Exol tablets concealed in eight sacks.
The suspects were reportedly transporting the consignment from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Mararaba, Nasarawa State.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested Onyeka Ofor at his residence in Aguda, Surulere, with 48,900 pills of tramadol 225mg.
Another suspect, Luke Ugokwe, was arrested after seven cartons of cannabis sativa weighing 59 kilogrammes were intercepted at a logistics company.
Also in Lagos, 43-year-old Ibrahim Hudu was arrested at Apongbo with 998.38 kilogrammes of nitrous oxide gas.
In Gombe State, a total of 154,480 capsules of tramadol were recovered from two suspects, Sabi’u Umar, 27, and Hassana Muhammad, 19, who were arrested in the Barunde area and Gombe Main Market, respectively.
In Imo State, 25-year-old Ifesinachi Godwin was arrested along the Owerri-Onitsha Road with 43.85 kilogrammes of skunk.
In Ondo State, four suspects—Blessing Effiong, Saviour Peter, David Friday Sunday and Ability Peter Sunday—were arrested during the raid and destruction of a two-hectare cannabis farm in Ita-Ogbolu Forest.
The operation led to the destruction of about 5,000 kilogrammes of skunk, while 48 kilogrammes of dry and fresh cannabis were recovered for prosecution.
The NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers and men of the Lagos, Tin-Can, Edo, Niger, Delta, Ondo, Gombe, Imo and FCT Commands for their intelligence-driven operations.
He urged personnel across the country to sustain what he described as a balanced approach to drug control.
