Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a Lagos-based real estate developer, Kolapo Raji, Chairman and CEO of Trans Fortress Global Resources, at his Ikate, Lekki residence.
NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said Raji had been on the agency’s watchlist since 2025 and was taken into custody shortly after returning from the United Kingdom.
A search of his apartment led to the recovery of four large bags containing 89.20 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, and a 2024 Toyota Hilux.
Babafemi said Raji admitted involvement in the drug trade, explaining that he began by financing consignments for an overseas associate.
“He claimed that the hundreds of millions of naira he received as profit motivated him to establish his own independent drug distribution channel,” Babafemi added.
In Kano, NDLEA officers at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport intercepted a 41-year-old Ivorian, Michael Gohouri, also known as Anunwa Michael, during screening for a flight to Milan. Babafemi said a body scan confirmed ingestion of drugs, and the suspect later excreted 82 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.49 kilograms.
Gohouri reportedly traveled between Lagos, Enugu, and Kano before swallowing the cocaine. “He expected to be paid 5,000 Euros upon delivery in Milan,” Babafemi said. The suspect, who holds both Italian residency and a Nigerian National Identification Number, claimed to have familial ties in Enugu State.
In other operations, NDLEA recovered 56 kilograms of skunk from Ugwuja Kingsley in Agbara and 76 kilograms from Ekwe Arinze at a motor park in Oshodi.
Officers also uncovered 170,900 bottles of codeine-based syrup at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, and 7,300 tramadol pills hidden in commuter buses along the Okene–Lokoja highway in Kogi State.
Further raids led to arrests in Ondo, Bauchi, Delta, and Edo states, with large quantities of skunk seized from forest enclaves and farmlands.
Babafemi noted the agency is intensifying nationwide operations targeting drug syndicates that use real estate and other businesses as fronts, spanning airports, land borders, highways, and seaports.
“The NDLEA remains committed to disrupting the networks and preventing the trafficking of illicit substances across the country,” he said.
