Drugs in Moimoi Sachets: NDLEA Arrests Chinese Man, 80-Year-Old Woman

A Chinese businessman, Liang Tak You, and an 80-year-old Nigerian grandmother, Mrs. Grace Ekpeme, have been arrested in a sweeping nationwide operation by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), which uncovered consignments of synthetic cannabis—popularly known as Colorado—hidden in moimoi sachets, as well as Canadian Loud packed inside imported canned food.

In a statement released Sunday in Abuja, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said Liang was apprehended on Friday at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

“The suspect, who arrived in Nigeria from Bangkok via Dubai on an Emirates Airlines flight, is a Chinese national, naturalised and based in Malaysia,” Babafemi explained. “He reportedly travelled to Thailand to pick up two suitcases containing 50 parcels of Loud, weighing 26.10kg, before flying to Nigeria.”

Babafemi said NDLEA operatives had been tracking Liang from his port of departure and allowed him to clear immigration and airport protocols before intercepting him as he attempted to exit the terminal.

In a separate raid, 80-year-old Mrs. Grace Ekpeme was arrested in the early hours of Saturday, July 26, at Edet-Nsa Street, Base Site, Calabar South, Cross River State. NDLEA officers found over 3kg of skunk in her possession after receiving intelligence on her drug trafficking activities.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, July 23, along the Epe–Ajah Expressway in Lagos, NDLEA intercepted a suspect, Chidi Agbafo, in a commercial bus transporting 21.7kg of Colorado—some of it stuffed inside moimoi cooking sachets—and 3.8 litres of codeine syrup, en route to Warri and Oghara in Delta State.

Also on Friday, July 25, a joint examination involving NDLEA, Customs, and other security agencies at the Apapa Seaport led to the discovery of 101kg of Canadian Loud concealed inside 202 tins of imported food labeled “Bean Salad Mix.” The drugs were packed into two Toyota Sienna buses hidden in a container shipped from Canada.

On the Abuja–Kaduna highway, NDLEA operatives on July 23 arrested a man, Usman Musa, with 71,000 pills of opioids, including tramadol, diazepam, and Exol-5, while traveling to Kano in a commercial bus.

In Borno State, a 30-year-old woman, Binta Usman, was arrested at her home in the Muna Moforo area of Maiduguri with 30.1kg of skunk. Her accomplice, Bala Abdullahi, was later arrested during a follow-up operation in the same neighborhood.

In Ondo State, three brothers—Nanna, Chizom, and Maxwell Ozirinye—were arrested on Saturday, July 26, during a raid on a cannabis plantation at Bending Corner Forest in Idoani, Ose LGA. NDLEA officers destroyed 2,500kg of skunk grown on a hectare of land and seized 121.4kg of already processed cannabis.

Another operation in Edo State on July 23 led to the arrest of a 26-year-old woman, Bright Sunday Okon, in the Asakpa community of Benin City. NDLEA found various quantities of Colorado, Loud, Arizona, skunk, and methamphetamine in her residence.

In Nasarawa State, 105.4kg of skunk was recovered from an abandoned Honda vehicle in Keffi, while in Niger State, a suspect, Bashir Abdullahi, was caught with 6,400 pills of tramadol (225mg) at Kasuwan Gwari, Minna.

In Ogun State, NDLEA operatives arrested a known drug dealer, Jamiu Omolaja, and seized 113kg of skunk from his hideout in Ifo on July 24 after his gang attempted to resist arrest violently.

In Gombe State, officers apprehended Adamu Adamu, also known as “Dankyado,” with 10,910 capsules of tramadol along the Gombe–Bajoga road on Saturday, July 26.

Also in Kogi State, NDLEA intercepted a skunk consignment hidden in garri, dried scent leaves, and other foodstuff along the Okene–Lokoja highway. A follow-up raid in Abuja led to the arrest of 27-year-old Kindness Bala, who was allegedly planning to transport the drugs to Katsina State before smuggling them into Qatar. Later, on July 26, NDLEA officers in Kogi recovered 23,600 pills of tramadol, 300 ampoules of pentazocine, and 700 grams of skunk from a truck at a motor park in Ayingba.

Despite these arrests and seizures, Babafemi noted that NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continues across Nigeria. Sensitisation programs were held at schools in Oyo, Ebonyi, Sokoto, and Lagos states. Advocacy visits were also paid to traditional rulers in Anambra State, including Obi Gibson Nwosu (Ezeuzu II of Awka) and Igwe Robert Eze (Okofia VI of Ukpo).

Babafemi concluded that NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the commands involved and praised the agency nationwide for their dual focus on reducing both drug supply and demand.