Fleeing Bandits’ Drug Supplier ‘Gamboli’ Arrested In Niger As NDLEA Seizes Over 1,187 Kgs Of Skunk In Ondo

Three weeks after escaping arrest at his home in Anguwan Makera, Kuta, Shiroro local government area of Niger State, a notorious supplier of illicit drugs to bandits operating in the area, 33-year-old Mohammed Sani (alias Gamboli), has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at his hideout.

Spokesman for the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, stated in a press release on Sunday that Gamboli’s arrest followed credible intelligence regarding his illicit drug activities.

He added that NDLEA operatives had raided his house at Anguwan Makera, Kuta, on November 20, 2025, where they recovered 471.8 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis.

Although he evaded arrest during the raid and had been in hiding since, the manhunt for him finally paid off last Thursday when NDLEA officers, acting on processed intelligence, traced and apprehended him at one of his drug joints in Anguwan Fadama, Kuta.

Babafemi further stated that intelligence reports had indicated Gamboli is a major supplier of illicit drugs to bandits operating in the Shiroro local government area.

The spokesman also reported that NDLEA officers in Abia last Thursday raided a clandestine codeine syrup-manufacturing factory in Amapu Igbengwo village, Umuakpara, within the Osisioma local government area of the state. During the operation, operatives recovered a total of 9,015 bottles of codeine syrup, weighing 1,152.2 kilogrammes.

In Enugu state, operatives arrested Ossai Emeka, 45, last Thursday along the Onitsha-Enugu Ezike road with 7.2 kilogrammes of skunk. Additionally, Enoje Agada, 40, was apprehended along the Enugu-Ezike-Ette road with 94.6 kilogrammes of the same psychoactive substance.

A raid conducted by NDLEA operatives at a notorious drug joint known as “Beere the California” in Ido, Oyo state, last Thursday, resulted in the seizure of 3.4 kilogrammes of skunk, 1.6 kilogrammes of Colorado (a synthetic cannabis), and 400 grammes of methamphetamine. Babafemi mentioned that the owner of the drug joint, identified as “Idowu the killer,” is currently at large, while a suspect, Ajibade Faruk, was apprehended at the joint.

Another operation at Idi Oro, Elekuro, Ibadan, last Friday, led to the arrest of Olusanya Abosede, 35, and the seizure of 238.4 kilogrammes of skunk. Meanwhile, the duo of Bashiru Babalola, 43, and Ogunwale Ranti, 50, were arrested last Wednesday at the Gbaji checkpoint, Seme road, Badagry, Lagos, with 50,000 pills of tramadol 250mg.

NDLEA operatives in Ogun state arrested two suspects, Akinwale Makanjuola and Joseph Owolabi, with 73 kilogrammes of skunk at Iperu. In addition, another suspect, Wasiu Lateef, was apprehended with 25 kilogrammes of the same substance at Oke Agbede, Imeko area of the state last Tuesday.

In Ondo state, NDLEA officers, acting on credible intelligence last Monday, raided a compound in Ogbese, Akure North local government area, where they arrested a 55-year-old woman, Veronica Obi, and her 29-year-old son, Bright Obi, recovering 1,187 kilogrammes of skunk and its seeds from them.

A suspect, Ohiomah Igbafe, 44, was arrested during a raid operation in Uroe community, Owan East local government area of Edo state, where 461 kilogrammes of skunk and its seeds were recovered last Tuesday.

In Gombe state, a suspect, Muhammed Sani (alias Sha-Mu-Sha), 50, was arrested with 40,000 capsules of tramadol in the Tunfure area, Gombe. Two other suspects, Muhammad Abdullahi (a.k.a. Sakalala), 52, and Muhammed Hamza (a.k.a. Mamman), 32, were apprehended at Ashaka Jalingo with 56 kilogrammes of skunk last Monday.

Babafemi also reported that no fewer than 907 pills of tramadol, tapentadol, cocodamol, amitriptyline, and bromazepam, concealed in containers of local black soap and designer wears, were intercepted and seized by NDLEA operatives at two major courier companies in Lagos between Tuesday and Wednesday of the previous week. These consignments were destined for the US, Canada, and Sweden.

At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted a consignment of 170,000 bottles of codeine syrup, weighing 23,579 kilogrammes, on Saturday during a joint examination of a container with officials from the Customs Service and other security agencies.

He added that, in a similar vein, the agency’s commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, places of worship, workplaces, and communities, among other locations, during the past week.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the officers and men of the DOGI, Niger, Abia, Oyo, Enugu, Seme, Ogun, Ondo, Gombe, Apapa, and Edo commands for their arrests, seizures, and dexterity. He urged them and their colleagues nationwide to persist with the ongoing balanced approach to the agency’s drug control efforts.