25 kg of methamphetamine seized in Lagos in South African cereal packs
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Business Day Nigeria, Vanguard, Daily Post and Punch
NDLEA, the Nigerian anti-drug agency, intercepted 25.05 kg of methamphetamine hidden in cereal packs imported from South Africa at Lagos airport, according to Vanguard. The alleged trafficker, a 56-year-old Nigerian who has lived in South Africa for more than twenty years, was arrested on his return. In a separate case, a US professional basketball player was arrested with 33.95 kg of cannabis.
NDLEA officers seized two suitcases containing 25.05 kg of methamphetamine, hidden in breakfast cereal packets from South Africa, at Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos. The suspect was arrested on Wednesday 11 November on his return from South Africa, the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said on Sunday.
Aged 56, the alleged trafficker holds both Nigerian and South African passports. Initially questioned, he admitted using false papers to enter South Africa and having been called Omokan Isaac Babatope, an alias; his real name is reportedly Chinedu Onwude. He claims he was paid 20,000 South African rand by a man based in South Africa, Obiora Okoye, to deliver the consignment to Nigeria.
The same day, a 28-year-old US citizen, Greene Da’monte Khiree, was arrested at the airport after an Emirates flight from Thailand via Dubai. He had left two checked bags behind and tried to leave with only his carry-on bag. The bags contained 32 packets of “Loud” cannabis, totalling 33.95 kg, as well as a tracking device. A native of Savannah, Georgia, the man says he has lived in Thailand since October 2025 and plays professional basketball there, but analysis of his phone reveals, according to the agency, his involvement in the trafficking.
Elsewhere in the country, the NDLEA seized 119.71 kg of cannabis in Ebute Metta, Lagos, on 10 November, and then 78.8 kg of cannabis, codeine, Rohypnol and tramadol during a joint operation in Ajah on 14 November. In Kaduna, a craft firearms factory was dismantled and a 45-year-old man arrested, while a 31-year-old woman was arrested with 196 AK-47 cartridges. NDLEA chairman General Mohamed Marwa (retired) praised the vigilance and professionalism of officers, saying no concealment method could withstand their determination.
