The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced it intercepted a staggering haul of opioids valued at over N3.4 billion in major operations conducted in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy in a statement said the drugs were concealed in chocolate tins, commercial vehicles and even household cargo.
Babafemi said in a coordinated operation at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, on 29th April, the operatives, working alongside Nigeria Customs and other security agencies, uncovered two million pills of tafrodol 225mg and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrup hidden in a watch-listed container.
That same day in Lagos, officers recovered 1.5 million pills of a controlled opioid from a suspect, Olarenwaju Wahab, in the Alaba-Rago area of Ojo.
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Investigations traced the shipment to a residence in Victoria Garden City, Lekki, linked to one Obinna Kenneth, who is currently at large.
Further interceptions were made at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, where 42 parcels of “Canadian Loud” — a potent cannabis strain weighing 20kg — were discovered disguised in tins of chocolate, Milo, and kidney beans in cargo arriving from Canada aboard a British Airways flight.
Three suspects, including Monsurat Ewawunmi Lawson, who received the consignment, were arrested between 30th April and 3rd May.
On 2nd May, businessman Bobby Morris Osas was arrested at the Lagos airport while attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Italy. A search of his luggage revealed 8,130 pills of tramadol of varying strengths.
The agency also thwarted an attempt to ship tramadol and skunk to Iraq, concealed in bottles of body cream, through a courier service in Lagos on 28th April.
In Kaduna, NDLEA officers intercepted a commercial vehicle travelling from Nasarawa to Zamfara on 3rd May. A search uncovered 942 explosives concealed in a sack. A 30-year-old suspect, Nura Sani Muhammad (a.k.a. Nura Hariji), was arrested and handed over to relevant security agencies.
Elsewhere, five members of a drug syndicate led by Aminu Musa (a.k.a. Kadagi) were arrested in Kano on 30th April with 50 blocks of skunk weighing 21.6kg.
In Edo State, on 1st May, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence intercepted a white Toyota bus in Uromi transporting assorted opioids from Onitsha to Auchi.
The seizure included over 314,000 pills of various controlled drugs, 638 bottles of codeine syrup and 200 ampoules of pentazocine injection. A suspect, Dare Adeyemo, was taken into custody.
In Awka, Anambra State, a commercial bus was intercepted on 30th April, with 50,400 capsules of tramadol, 500 co-codamol tablets and 300 ampoules of pentazocine recovered. A suspect, Chinedu Eneh, was arrested.
Also, on 3rd May, officers patrolling the Kontagora–Mokwa road in Niger State stopped a Mitsubishi truck loaded with 5,500 tramadol capsules and 2,300 ampoules of pentazocine.
The suspect, 30-year-old Yusuf Abubakar, was apprehended.
In a significant breakthrough following a 10-month investigation, NDLEA officers on 26th April arrested a major drug kingpin, Dominic Chiegozie Obijiaku, Managing Director of Ovidaq International Ltd.
He was allegedly behind a shipment of 2,616,060 tramadol pills seized at Apapa Port on 28th July 2024. A follow-up search of his Lekki residence yielded 51 wraps of Canadian Loud weighing 34 grams.
Meanwhile, NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign continued nationwide, with sensitisation lectures delivered at Al-Istigama University, Kano, and Government Girls Junior Secondary School, Kankia, Katsina State.
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NDLEA Chairman/CEO Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended officers across Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna, Anambra, Edo, Niger, and Apapa Commands for their effective enforcement and balance between drug supply suppression and demand reduction efforts.
