The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has
uncovered a clandestine laboratory used for producing Colorado, a potent
synthetic strain of cannabis, in a residential building at Ajao Estate, Isolo,
Lagos.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the agency’s Director
of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the discovery followed months of
surveillance and intelligence gathering on the local production of the
psychoactive substance.
According to Babafemi, the breakthrough came after
operatives intercepted multiple consignments of Colorado in March and
May 2025, raising suspicions that the substance—previously imported into
Nigeria—was now being manufactured locally.
During the raid on Thursday, October 30, NDLEA
operatives arrested 30-year-old Stephen Kelechi Imoh, identified as the
owner of the illicit laboratory.
Recovered items from the apartment included 16.2
kilograms of freshly produced Colorado, 1.7 kilograms of ADB-CHMNACA
Cannabinol, 4.5 kilograms of potassium carbonate, and 91 litres
of dibromobutane—chemicals used in the production of synthetic cannabis.
“The effort paid off after months of intelligence
gathering on possible Colos laboratories in Lagos,” Babafemi said. “This
discovery confirms that the dangerous psychoactive substance, which was
hitherto imported into the country, is now being locally produced.”
In a related operation, NDLEA officers also raided the
hideout of a 28-year-old drug dealer, Afeez Salisu (popularly known as Malu),
in the Mushin area of Lagos. The operation led to the seizure of 16
compressed blocks of ‘Ghana Loud’ and several sachets and bottles of Colorado,
weighing a total of 16.4 kilograms.
The NDLEA said both arrests mark a major success in
its ongoing crackdown on synthetic drug production and trafficking in Nigeria.
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