BREAKING: Nollywood Filmmaker Mbadiwe Arrested During Lekki Drug Cartel Raid

US-trained filmmaker Emeka Emmanuel Mbadiwe, known for his work in Hollywood and Nollywood, was arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on December 27, 2024, for alleged drug trafficking....CONTINUE READING>>>

Mbadiwe was apprehended in his Lekki hotel suite after being linked to the shipment of 33 parcels of Loud, a potent cannabis strain weighing 17.30 kilograms, cleverly hidden in wooden boxes. The contraband had arrived at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Christmas Eve.

NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi disclosed that Mbadiwe’s accomplice, Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James, was arrested earlier in Ikeja’s Ajao Estate while attempting to retrieve the illicit shipment from a warehouse.

In a related crackdown in Ilorin, Kwara State, NDLEA operatives arrested two young individuals—24-year-old graduate Khadijat Abdulraheem and 20-year-old student Ayomide Morakinyo—for producing and selling drug-laced cupcakes. A raid on their apartment uncovered 42 drug-infused treats, exposing a disturbing trend of drug use among students.

Elsewhere, ex-convict Sodade Sunday Eniola, previously jailed for drug trafficking, was arrested again in December 2024 for leading a passport racketeering syndicate. NDLEA operatives intercepted 52 passports concealed in food packages and shoe soles destined for Canada, Russia, and other countries, unearthing an international fraud network.

In Rivers State, a joint operation involving the NDLEA, customs, and security personnel intercepted 316,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex on New Year’s Eve. The seizure prevented the circulation of this harmful opioid on Nigeria’s streets.

The agency also made significant progress in Kano, where officers raided the Mafarki, Dan Dishe area of Dala Local Government on December 31. They seized 149,090 pills of Tramadol and Exol-5 from Ismail Muhammad, a 45-year-old dealer.

NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the agency’s operatives for their dedication and urged them to continue combating drug abuse and trafficking across the country.