The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has confiscated illicit drugs valued at over N3.4 billion in a series of operations across Lagos, Rivers, Kano and several other states, in what officials described as a coordinated effort to dismantle drug trafficking networks nationwide.
A statement by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, revealed that the seizures included over 3.5 million pills of opioids and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrup.
The largest bust occurred at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, where NDLEA operatives, working jointly with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, uncovered a shipment containing two million pills of tafrodol 225mg and the codeine syrup.
In Lagos, a separate operation led to the interception of 1.5 million pills of a controlled opioid at Alaba-Rago in Ojo, from a suspect identified as Olarenwaju Wahab.
Investigations later traced the origin of the consignment to Victoria Garden City in Lekki, where a man identified as Obinna Kenneth is currently on the run.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, NDLEA officials intercepted 20kg of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, disguised as chocolate and beverages in cargo arriving from Canada.
Three suspects, including Monsurat Ewawunmi Lawson, were arrested between April 30 and May 3 in connection with the shipment.
In a separate arrest at the same airport, a businessman, Bobby Morris Osas, was apprehended on May 2 while attempting to travel to Italy with over 8,000 pills of tramadol of varying dosages concealed in his luggage.
Also in Lagos, NDLEA thwarted an attempt to smuggle tramadol and skunk to Iraq through a courier company. The drugs, weighing 104 grams, were concealed in bottles of body cream.
In Kaduna State, operatives intercepted 942 explosives hidden in a commercial vehicle en route to Zamfara. A 30-year-old suspect, Nura Sani Muhammad, was arrested during the operation on May 3.
In Kano, five members of a drug syndicate were arrested at the Dangoro market with 50 blocks of cannabis weighing 21.6kg.
In Edo, a white Toyota bus from Anambra State heading to Auchi was intercepted in Uromi with over 314,000 pills of various opioids and codeine syrup, leading to the arrest of one Dare Adeyemo.
Another seizure in Anambra saw operatives recover over 50,000 capsules of tramadol and other drugs from a commercial bus at Agu-Awka junction, resulting in the arrest of Chinedu Eneh.
In Niger State, 5,500 tramadol capsules and 2,300 ampoules of pentazocine were confiscated from a Mitsubishi canter truck on the Kontagora-Mokwa road, and a 30-year-old man, Yusuf Abubakar, was arrested.
The agency also arrested a 52-year-old drug kingpin, Dominic Chiegozie Obijiaku, following a 10-month investigation into a 2024 shipment of over 2.6 million pills of tramadol intercepted at Apapa port. A follow-up raid on his Lekki residence uncovered additional cannabis.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the agency’s operatives for their vigilance and urged sustained efforts in the ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA).
He also acknowledged the nationwide advocacy campaigns carried out in institutions such as Al-Istigama University, Kano, and Government Girls Junior Secondary School, Katsina.
“These combined operations reflect our commitment to reducing both the supply and demand for illicit drugs in Nigeria,” Marwa stated.
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