… 47,200 Captagon pills concealed in bathing soap • 3.9m opioid tablets abandoned at import shed
Daud Olatunji
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted illicit drugs worth more than N6.2bn at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, including 47,200 pills of Captagon, popularly known as the “Jihadi drug,” and nearly four million opioid tablets.
The agency also arrested a suspected cross-border drug kingpin and several other suspects in separate operations across Lagos, Rivers, Ondo and Delta states.
According to a statement issued by the NDLEA on Sunday, the Captagon shipment was intercepted on Saturday, August 22, following the arrest of a 49-year-old man who arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.
The suspect reportedly arrived with a carton of local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap”.
However, a search of the carton uncovered 47,200 Captagon pills concealed inside blocks of soap.
The NDLEA said the consignment was worth more than N1.5bn.
Investigators reportedly learnt from the suspect that he was expected to deliver the drugs to a destination in northern Nigeria.
Captagon is an amphetamine-based stimulant that has been associated with illicit drug trafficking and has gained notoriety over reported links to armed groups and conflict zones.
The NDLEA said Nigeria first intercepted the drug in September 2021 at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
3.9m opioid tablets seized
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 2,787.40kg.
The agency valued the opioid consignments at more than N4.6bn.
The drugs were recovered from four abandoned consignments at the import shed of the MMIA after no importer came forward to claim them.
Three of the consignments contained 900,000 tablets of Tramaking, weighing 815.40kg. The NDLEA said they arrived aboard RwandAir flights from Bangladesh.
The fourth consignment contained 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol, weighing 1,972kg, and arrived aboard Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.
The consignments were reportedly placed under surveillance before NDLEA officers, working with the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders, conducted a joint examination and formally retrieved the drugs on Friday.
US returnee arrested in Lagos
The anti-narcotics agency also arrested a 31-year-old United States returnee in the Ikate area of Lekki, Lagos, on August 19.
The suspect was arrested after allegedly showing up to collect 3.350kg of “Loud”, a potent strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.
Cocaine, heroin recovered in Rivers
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided the notorious Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, where they recovered an iron safe containing various illicit substances.
The agency said the fireproof safe was eventually opened with a welding machine on Tuesday.
Inside, operatives found 237 grammes of Colorado, 316 grammes of cocaine and 10 grammes of heroin.
1,069kg cannabis seized in Ondo
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives arrested three suspects along the Ipele-Idoani Road on Friday after allegedly discovering 728kg of skunk concealed in their truck.
Two other suspects were arrested at Aponmu Forest on Wednesday, with another 341kg of skunk recovered.
The combined seizure in the two operations amounted to 1,069kg.
The NDLEA further disclosed that more than 176,000 tablets of assorted opioids, including tramadol and Molly, were recovered during two separate interdiction operations in Delta State between August 26 and 28.
The agency said its operations were complemented by its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
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