Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a suspected drug baron, Frank Ibemesi, also known as Chisco Bee, following weeks of surveillance on his activities.
Ibemesi, 42, identified as the MD/CEO of Franc CJ Ibemesi Nig. Ltd., was arrested in the early hours of Saturday, November 15, 2025, at his Daisy Garden Hotel on Agbeke Street, Ago Palace Way, Isolo, Lagos.
A statement released on Sunday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said he was later taken to a warehouse on Pius Ezeobi Street, also in Ago Palace Way, where officers recovered 42 jumbo bags and four cartons of “loud,” a strain of cannabis, weighing 1,762.8 kilograms.
He said cash recovered from him at the point of arrest included $11,600, £2,000, €2,200, and 50 Canadian dollars.
“A wanted drug baron who operates under the cover of a businessman and hotelier, Frank Chijioke Ibemesi, alias Chisco Bee, has been arrested by operatives of a Special Operations Unit of the NDLEA after weeks of intelligence and surveillance on his criminal activities.
“The 42-year-old Ibemesi, who is the MD/CEO of Franc CJ Ibemesi Nig. Ltd., was arrested at his Daisy Garden Hotel, 66–68 Agbeke Street, Ago Palace Way, Isolo, Lagos, in the early hours of Saturday, November 15, 2025, after which he was taken to his warehouse at 7 Pius Ezeobi Street, off Ago Palace Way, Isolo, where 42 jumbo bags and four cartons of loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 1,762.8 kilograms, were recovered.
“Also seized from him at the point of arrest were $11,600; 2,000 British pounds; 2,200 euros; and 50 Canadian dollars, all in cash,” the statement partly read.
In a separate operation in Osun State, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives disrupted a drug syndicate at Orita-Apeje, Araromi-Okeodo Forest Reserve in Ife South Local Government Area on Tuesday, November 11.
According to him, the operatives seized 11,135 kilograms of processed skunk and arrested seven suspects.
“Operatives, after days of surveillance in the forest, seized two trucks being used to transport the illicit consignments: a Volvo truck marked WWR 29 XA and a Mercedes truck with registration number AWK 713 YZ, and arrested seven suspects. Those in custody in connection with the seizure are Lucky Abiodun; Julius Amos; Victor Ngbikili; Sunday Oduegwu; Ibrahim Akanni; Eze Godstime; and Fred Ifeanyichukwu,” he said.
In Edo State, Babafemi said officers recovered a total of 1,902.1 kilograms of skunk in separate operations.
These, according to him, included 184.1kg on Oza–Igbanke Road on Thursday, November 13; 672kg from Utese Forest on Friday, November 14; and 494kg from a Mercedes-Benz (DE311BEN) on the Benin–Akure Road, where 45-year-old Felix Edah was arrested.
He added that another suspect, Lucky Abagha, 51, was arrested with 552kg of skunk in a Mercedes-Benz.
“While four suspects — Micheal Okoh, Offor Agada, Raphael Nkemjika and Nwabueze Franklin — were arrested with 68kg of skunk and 3.150kg of methamphetamine along the Ijebu-Ode Expressway in Ogun State, Danjuma Tukura, 50, was nabbed with 172kg of skunk at Sunkani, Ardo-Kola LGA, Taraba State, on Friday, November 14, and Wisdom Titus, 24, with 84kg of the same substance at Takum area of the state,” he added.
In Adamawa State, Babafemi said 396,000 capsules of tramadol were seized from 50-year-old Ahmed Isyaku Nda at the Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, on Friday, November 14.
“Another 785kg of skunk was recovered from a warehouse in Asob Maraba Karu, Nasarawa State. The owner of the warehouse is currently at large,” he added.
In Kwara State, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck marked T-0262KT along the Ilorin–Jebba Expressway on Thursday, November 13.
The vehicle, according to him, was conveying 197 blocks of skunk weighing 78.565kg and 155 cartons of rubber solutions.
“The truck driver, Umar Yakubu, was taken into custody. In another operation, a commercial bus with registration number KJA-657CY was intercepted at Eiyenkorin, Ilorin, on Wednesday, November 12, with 20 blocks of skunk concealed in a 50-litre jerrycan, and the driver, Ibrahim Bello, was arrested,” Babafemi said.
The PUNCH reported that the agency on Tuesday intercepted a shipment of cocaine valued at over $235m (about N338bn) at the PTML Terminal of the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos.
The agency said it has launched a joint investigation with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency to identify those behind the importation of 1,000 kilograms of cocaine.
