NDLEA Warns Parents Over Drug-Laced Cookies, Gummies

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has urged parents to pay closer attention to their children’s consumption of cookies and gummies, warning that some of the products could be used to conceal illicit drugs smuggled into Nigeria.

The agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement posted on Sunday, noting that recent seizures by NDLEA operatives had exposed attempts by drug traffickers to disguise prohibited substances as ordinary confectionery products.

“As parents, if your kids and young ones always crave for cookies and gummies, you may have to pay a little more attention. There may be more to it than ordinary cookies and gummies,” Babafemi wrote, sharing images of seized packages.

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The photos showed colourful pouches of “Cookies Delta 8 Gummies” in flavours such as Hawaiian Rain Pineapple Guava and Thai Mango, labelled as vegan and hemp-derived, alongside the actual gummy products.

The warning comes amid a major interception by the Nigeria Customs Service at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos.

Officers seized two 40-foot containers containing large quantities of cannabis-infused products concealed among legitimate imports such as used vehicles, generators, batteries and fabrics.

The consignment included thousands of Delta-8 cannabis pre-roll cookies, packs of cannabis-infused gummies and other cannabis-infused cookies, with a combined estimated street value of about ₦373.8m.

The items were subsequently handed over to the NDLEA.

NDLEA officials described the products, which originated from the United States and were packaged to resemble ordinary vegan snacks with appealing flavours, as an emerging public health threat.

They noted that the attractive packaging could appeal especially to children, students and young people, raising the risk of accidental consumption of concentrated cannabis.