The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized illicit drugs valued at ₦3.428 billion during operations in Lagos and Rivers states.
In a statement issued Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the confiscated substances included 3.5 million opioid pills and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrup.
The codeine shipment was intercepted on April 29 during a joint inspection by NDLEA and Customs officials of a flagged container at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne.
Also on April 29, NDLEA operatives in Lagos recovered 1.5 million opioid pills from a suspect, Olarenwaju Wahab, in the Alaba-Rago area of Ojo. The consignment was traced to Q104B Road 25, Victoria Garden City, Lekki — the residence of one Obinna Kenneth, who is currently at large.
Further operations across the country uncovered more illicit substances.
At Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, 42 parcels of Canadian Loud (a potent cannabis strain) weighing 20kg were discovered hidden in tins of chocolate, Milo, and kidney beans.
The packages had arrived on a British Airways flight from Canada. Three suspects, including the intended recipient Monsurat Ewawunmi Lawson, were arrested between April 30 and May 3.
On May 2, NDLEA arrested businessman Bobby Morris Osas at Lagos airport while he attempted to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Italy. A search of his luggage revealed 8,130 tramadol pills of varying strengths (225mg, 200mg, and 100mg).
The agency also intercepted 104 grams of tramadol and skunk concealed in body cream bottles headed for Iraq via a courier company in Lagos on April 28.
In Kaduna, NDLEA officers on May 3 stopped a commercial vehicle on the Kaduna-Zaria expressway, discovering 942 explosives concealed in a sack.
A 30-year-old suspect, Nura Sani Muhammad (aka Nura Hariji), was arrested. NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa has directed that the suspect and evidence be transferred to the appropriate security agency.
On April 30, five members of a drug syndicate led by Aminu Musa (alias Kadagi) were apprehended at Dangoro market in Kano with 50 blocks of skunk weighing 21.6kg.
In Edo state, on May 1, NDLEA operatives arrested a suspect in Uromi, Esan North-East, after intercepting a white Toyota bus transporting various opioids from Onitsha to Auchi.
The drugs included 314,020 pills of tramadol, phenol, diazepam, exol-5, 638 bottles of codeine syrup, and 200 ampoules of pentazocine injection. Dare Adeyemo was taken into custody.
Another interception occurred on April 30 at Agu-Awka junction in Anambra state, where a Mazda commercial bus was stopped. Officers recovered 50,400 tramadol capsules, 500 co-codamol tablets, and 300 pentazocine ampoules. Chinedu Eneh was arrested.
On May 3 in Niger state, NDLEA stopped a Mitsubishi canter truck on the Kontagora-Mokwa road. The search uncovered 5,500 tramadol capsules and 2,300 pentazocine ampoules. A suspect, Yusuf Abubakar, was detained.
After a 10-month investigation, NDLEA operatives on April 26 arrested Dominic Chiegozie Obijiaku, 52, Managing Director of Ovidaq International Ltd, for his role in the July 28, 2024 importation of 2,616,060 tramadol pills intercepted at Apapa Seaport.
A follow-up search at his Lekki home yielded 51 wraps of Canadian Loud weighing 34 grams.
Babafemi concluded that NDLEA’s anti-drug operations and public awareness campaigns continued nationwide.
Activities included sensitization lectures delivered to students and staff of Al-Stigma University in Kano and Government Girls Junior Secondary School in Kankia, Katsina State.
