The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a secret laboratory used for producing Colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, inside a residential building at Ajao Estate in the Isolo area of Lagos State.
The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
He said the owner of the illegal facility, 30-year-old Stephen Imoh, was arrested during a raid that followed months of surveillance and intelligence gathering on local production of the psychoactive substance.
According to Babafemi, the breakthrough came after operatives intercepted multiple consignments of Colorado in March and May 2025 — a discovery that indicated the drug, previously imported into Nigeria, was now being produced locally.
Items recovered from the suspect include 16.2kg of freshly cooked Colos, 1.7kg of ADB-CHMNACA Cannabinol, 4.5kg of Potassium Carbonate, and 91 litres of Dibromobutane, all used in the manufacture of synthetic cannabis.
“The discovery followed months of intelligence gathering on possible Colos laboratories in Lagos after NDLEA officers intercepted consignments of freshly produced Colos in March and May 2025, a development that suggested that the dangerous psychoactive substance, which was hitherto imported into the country, was now locally produced,” Babafemi said.
He added that the operation was carried out on Thursday, October 30, 2025, when NDLEA officers raided the residential apartment which Imoh had converted into a laboratory for producing the illicit drug.
In a related operation, NDLEA operatives raided the hideout of a 28-year-old drug dealer, Afeez Salisu, also known as Malu, in Mushin, Lagos. During the raid, officers recovered 16 compressed blocks of Ghana Loud and several designer sachets and bottles of Colorado, weighing a total of 16.4kg.
The NDLEA reiterated its commitment to intensifying nationwide operations aimed at dismantling drug cartels and curbing the spread of synthetic substances across the country.