The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested 60-year-old drug baron Okpara Chigozie after seven years on the run.
According to the Director Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Chigozie was captured on Sunday, 13 July 2025, at his hideout in Isheri, Lagos, following the interception of his courier, Achebe Kenneth Nnamdi, along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.
Achebe, en route to Onitsha in a Toyota Sienna, was found with 7.6kg of cocaine and 900g of methamphetamine concealed in the vehicle. A follow-up raid at Okpara’s residence led to the recovery of another 1.8kg of cocaine and 1.3kg of meth.
At Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA operatives, in collaboration with FAAN, seized 7,790 pills of tramadol and rohypnol from an Italy-bound passenger, Omoregie Uyiosa, on 16 July.
The next day, 1.7kg of skunk concealed in Golden Morn cereal packs and headed to Pakistan was intercepted, and Chioba Uchenna was arrested.
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On 19th July, NDLEA raided Sarah Sam Hotels in Ogudu, Lagos, and arrested Obayemi Oyetade with 1.3kg of chocolate cannabis, 900g of drug-laced gummies, and 22.9g of skunk. Three vehicles were also seized.
Elsewhere, three suspects were arrested in Kaduna with over 742kg of skunk and Colorado. In Kano, Lawan Rabiu was caught with 36,000 tramadol pills, while in Gombe, two operations led to the seizure of 54kg of drugs.
In Borno, 74,360 opioid pills were recovered from a vehicle in Maiduguri. In Bayelsa, 63-year-old Akuna Nelson was arrested with 163 litres of ‘skuchies’.
In Kogi, four suspects were arrested with 2kg of methamphetamine, while in Abia, a raid in Aba led to the arrest of Nduka Obi and the recovery of multiple drugs and N736,000.
While in Enugu, 45,000 tramadol pills were seized from a suspect along the expressway, and in Taraba, two men were arrested with 10,000 tramadol capsules.
NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued with sensitisation lectures in schools across Niger, Adamawa, Enugu, Anambra, and Kano states.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), praised the agency’s commands for balancing enforcement with public education and sustaining pressure on drug networks nationwide.
