The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a secret laboratory used for the production of Colorado (Colos), a dangerous synthetic strain of cannabis, inside a residential building at Ajao Estate, Isolo, Lagos State.
In a statement released on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA confirmed the arrest of 30-year-old Stephen Kelechi Imoh, the suspected owner of the lab. The discovery followed months of intelligence gathering by operatives tracking locally produced batches of Colos that had begun circulating across Lagos.
Babafemi said the breakthrough came on Thursday, 30th October 2025, when NDLEA operatives raided the Ajao Estate apartment, which Imoh had turned into a makeshift drug factory. During the operation, officers recovered large quantities of freshly cooked Colos and chemicals used in its production.
Items seized included 16.2 kilograms of Colos, 1.7 kilograms of ADB-CHMNACA Cannabinol, 4.5 kilograms of Potassium Carbonate, and 91 litres of Dibromobutane, a volatile chemical substance. The agency noted that the discovery confirmed growing fears that the production of synthetic cannabis, once imported, is now being done locally.
According to NDLEA, the operation was part of a wider nationwide crackdown on drug syndicates. The agency carried out several raids across different states in the last week of October, seizing large quantities of narcotics and arresting multiple suspects.
In Mushin, Lagos, operatives arrested 28-year-old drug dealer, Afeez Salisu (alias Malu), and recovered 16 compressed blocks of Ghana Loud and designer bottles of Colorado weighing 16.4 kilograms.
Similarly, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA officers arrested 20-year-old music artist, Godspower George Osahenrumwen, popularly known as Steady Boy, who attempted to receive a large consignment of Loud hidden in imported bathtubs from New York, United States. The shipment contained 140 bags of Loud weighing 77.2 kilograms. His manager, Zion Osazee Omigie (alias Zee Money), is currently on the run.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives intercepted 84,710 capsules of Tramadol along the Abuja–Jos highway and later arrested 27-year-old Musa Abdulkarim in Bauchi, who was the intended recipient. Another operation on the Abuja–Kaduna expressway led to the arrest of Hamza Musa, 47, found with 32,946 bottles of Akuskura, a new psychoactive substance.
More arrests were made across Ogun, Kwara, Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, and Taraba States, leading to the recovery of over 10,000 kilograms of cannabis, Tramadol, and methamphetamine in total. In Ogun State, three suspects — Seun Olaniyi (24), Rauf Asogba (28), and Ayinla Adeniyi (50) — were arrested with 1,779 kilograms of skunk after being tracked from Benin Republic.
In Edo, operatives intercepted two Toyota Sienna buses conveying 1,455 kilograms of skunk, while in Ondo, nearly 3 tonnes (2,829 kilograms) of the drug were seized from locations linked to 32-year-old Mrs. Ige Olarewaju. Another suspect, Samuel Adebayo, was caught with 737 kilograms of cannabis in Akure.
In Kwara State, over 532,600 pills of Tramadol and Exol-5 were confiscated from a truck at Oko-Olowo, while in Taraba, two men, Musbahu Abdullahi (28) and Saleiman Ahmed (25), were caught transporting 30,370 pills of Tramadol and 177 grams of methamphetamine from Onitsha to Yola.
The NDLEA said it also seized 76.5 litres of “skuchies”, a cocktail of blackcurrant, skunk, and opioids, from 50-year-old Ige Oluwale in Badagry, Lagos.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), commended the officers involved for their professionalism and resilience, noting that the agency’s operations were aimed at cutting off drug networks and dismantling production lines across Nigeria.
Marwa reaffirmed the agency’s determination to make drug trafficking a risky business for all offenders.
“We will continue to identify, target, and dismantle every drug syndicate operating in any part of this country. We are determined to deny them the proceeds of their criminal trade by ensuring the forfeiture of all traceable assets to the Federal Government,” Marwa said.
The NDLEA chief also urged communities to assist security agencies with information that can help track the production and distribution of illegal drugs, warning that synthetic substances like Colorado pose a grave threat to public health.
