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By Tracy Moses
When operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) stormed a quiet duplex at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, in the early hours of Thursday, November 6, 2025, few neighbours imagined that behind its high walls, a multi-million-naira synthetic drug empire was thriving, hidden in plain sight.
Inside, officers uncovered a large-scale operation devoted to the production of Colorado, a powerful synthetic strain of cannabis that has gained notoriety among Nigerian youths for its potency and mind-altering effects. By the time the operation was concluded, 148.3 kilograms of Colorado, precursor chemicals, and state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment had been recovered.
Colorado, also known as synthetic cannabis, is a chemically engineered substance that mimics the effects of marijuana but is far more potent and unpredictable. Users often experience hallucinations, paranoia, and violent mood swings. Unlike natural cannabis, synthetic variants are sprayed with toxic chemicals, making them highly addictive and dangerous.
The factory’s alleged mastermind, Yussuf Azeez, a 40-year-old fugitive previously wanted in the United Kingdom for drug-related crimes, was arrested while attempting to board a flight to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj, known as Umrah.
According to NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Azeez had fled the UK after being granted bail and resurfaced in Nigeria, where he reestablished his narcotics network under a new guise.
“Soon after settling in Lagos, he set up a massive secret lab for the manufacture of Colorado and other dangerous substances,” Babafemi said, adding that the agency had kept the location under surveillance for weeks before swooping in.
The arrest, along with a string of similar operations across several states, underscores what experts describe as Nigeria’s deepening challenge with synthetic drugs, a problem that transcends social class, geography, and age.
In recent years, the NDLEA has dismantled at least a dozen illegal laboratories producing methamphetamine and synthetic cannabis across Lagos, Anambra, and Rivers States. The rise of homegrown drug labs, analysts warn, points to a shift from traditional trafficking of imported narcotics to local manufacturing, a trend that poses serious national security and public health threats.
Mr. Sylvester Atere, National Project Officer at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Nigeria, told Pointblanknews that the Lekki bust demonstrates how organized criminal groups are adapting to evade global enforcement systems.
“The emergence of synthetic drug labs in urban areas is not only a law enforcement concern but a societal crisis,” Atere said. “It reflects how criminal economies are embedding themselves within communities, feeding off unemployment, addiction, and weak regulatory systems.”
He explained that synthetic drug production offers high profits with minimal investment, making it an attractive venture for criminal networks seeking to diversify beyond traditional narcotics like cocaine and heroin.
“These drugs are easier to produce locally using chemicals that are often legally imported, which makes detection difficult,” Atere added.
In the same week Azeez was apprehended, NDLEA operatives also intercepted multiple drug consignments across the country. In Lagos, a joint operation with the Nigeria Customs Service uncovered 105.5 kilograms of Molly and 500 grams of methamphetamine at the Sifax Bonded Terminal, Okota.
In Niger State, 35-year-old Ibrahim Mohammed was arrested along the Kainji–Wawa Road with 87,000 tramadol pills and 72 kilograms of cannabis concealed in a Volvo truck. In Taraba, Felix Chinedu, 28, was caught with 15,020 capsules of tramadol. Similar arrests were made in Kogi, Edo, and Bayelsa States, where NDLEA officers seized hundreds of kilograms of narcotics and arrested suspects aged between 25 and 73.
The agency’s Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd.), recently reaffirmed NDLEA’s commitment to rooting out drug syndicates and dismantling their production bases.
“Every illegal lab dismantled means lives saved. Our message to these cartels is simple: there is no hiding place in Nigeria for drug criminals,” Marwa said.
He emphasized that the NDLEA’s ongoing operations are part of a broader national effort to disrupt the supply chain of synthetic drugs while promoting public awareness about their dangers.
Security experts, however, argue that enforcement alone cannot solve Nigeria’s drug crisis. The rapid spread of synthetic substances like Colorado, Loud, and Molly among young people highlights the urgent need for stronger prevention and rehabilitation programmes.
Speaking to Pointblanknews on Sunday, Dr. Fatima Akilu, a psychologist and Director of the Neem Foundation, urged the government to treat drug addiction as a mental health issue rather than merely a criminal offence.
“We are seeing an alarming rise in synthetic drug use among teenagers and young adults. Many of them are experimenting out of curiosity, stress, or peer pressure,” she warned. “Without structured rehabilitation and awareness programmes, the problem will only deepen.”
Dr. Akilu noted that the appeal of synthetic drugs lies partly in their availability and the perception that they are “modern” or “safer” alternatives to traditional narcotics, a dangerous misconception that has fueled addiction and psychiatric disorders among users.
Nigeria’s drug economy, once dominated by imported heroin and cocaine, is increasingly driven by synthetic production, cheaper to make, easier to conceal, and far more profitable. She said that as long as the demand persists, local cartels will continue to exploit weak surveillance systems to set up illicit factories in residential areas.
She also warned that the infiltration of synthetic drugs into urban centres like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt signals a broader trend, the normalisation of drug use among young professionals, students, and even secondary school children.
“Many parents still associate drug abuse with the poor or uneducated,” Dr. Akilu noted. “But the truth is that synthetic drugs are now popular among the middle class, from campuses to nightlife scenes.”