NDLEA arrests ‘drug kingpin’ operating from Lagos hotel, seizes 14.4kg illegal substances
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a wanted drug trafficker and busted large-scale cannabis syndicates across seven states in a sweeping operation that yielded over 14.4 kilogram of illicit drugs.
Femi Babfemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said in a statement on Sunday, that the agency’s special operations unit stormed a Lagos hotel in the early hours of Saturday, arresting 42-year-old Frank Chijioke Ibemesi, who allegedly had built a thriving drug empire under the cover of being a businessman and hotelier.
Babafemi said Ibemesi, known in trafficking circles as “Chisco Bee,” was picked up at his Daisy Garden Hotel in Isolo after weeks of surveillance.
He added that his arrest led operatives to a warehouse in the same area, where they recovered 1,762.8kg of “Loud” cannabis packed in 42 jumbo bags and four cartons.
The NDLEA spokesperson said operatives also seized thousands in foreign currency found in his possession: $11,600, £2,000, €2,200, and 50 Canadian dollars.
The Ibemesi bust kicked off a chain of coordinated raids that exposed the depth of cannabis trafficking networks spanning Osun, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Taraba, Adamawa, Nasarawa, and Kwara states.
In Osun, NDLEA operatives broke up what they called a “forest-loading operation” inside the Orita-Apeje, Araromi-Okeodo reserve, where syndicates had processed 11,135kg of skunk for nationwide distribution.
Two trucks used for loading—one Volvo and one Mercedes—were impounded and seven suspects arrested.
In Edo state alone, officers recovered 1,902.1kg of cannabis in multiple raids, including 672kg from the Utese forest and nearly 1,000kg from two Mercedes Benz vehicles used for conveyance. Two drivers—Felix Edah, 45, and Lucky Abagha, 51—were arrested.
In Ogun, four men were caught with cannabis and methamphetamine, while in Taraba, NDLEA teams seized 256kg of skunk in two separate arrests. Officers in Adamawa recovered 396,000 tramadol capsules at the Yola airport, and in Nasarawa, 785kg of cannabis was evacuated from a dealer’s deserted warehouse.
The agency also intercepted multiple Lagos consignments, including 65.15kg of Canadian Loud in Surulere and 141kg of Ghana Loud in Otto, Oyingbo.
In Kwara, operatives halted a Jebba-bound truck loaded with 78.565kg of skunk and 155 cartons of rubber solutions and arrested another driver transporting cannabis concealed in a 50-litre jerrycan.
Babafemi said Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, commended the officers for what he described as a “balanced and unrelenting approach” to drug control.
