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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted consignments of captagon, popularly known as the "Jihadi drug," and millions of opioid pills with a combined street value exceeding N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The agency also arrested a suspected cross-border drug trafficker, recovered cocaine and heroin hidden inside a fireproof safe during a raid in Rivers State, and made several other drug-related arrests across the country.
According to NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, operatives arrested 49-year-old Akinbile Kazeem Aikins on August 22 shortly after he arrived at the Lagos airport from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.
A search of his luggage uncovered 47,200 pills of captagon concealed inside blocks of locally made bathing soap, commonly known as "Ghana Soap." The illicit amphetamine tablets are estimated to be worth more than N1.5 billion.
During interrogation, the suspect allegedly told investigators he was expected to deliver the consignment to a recipient in northern Nigeria.
In a separate operation at the airport, NDLEA officers intercepted 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg valued at over N4.6 billion.
The agency said three consignments containing 900,000 Tramaking tablets arrived from Bangladesh aboard RwandAir flights, while another shipment containing more than three million Tapentadol tablets was flown in from Amsterdam on a Qatar Airways flight.
The consignments had been placed under surveillance after they were abandoned by their importers and were eventually seized following a joint examination involving NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant agencies.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives arrested a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, in the Lekki area of Lagos while attempting to receive 3.35 kilograms of "Loud," a synthetic strain of cannabis allegedly shipped from the United Kingdom.
In Rivers State, operatives raided the notorious Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, where they recovered a fireproof iron safe believed to have been used by drug traffickers. After forcing it open with a welding machine, officers recovered 237 grams of Colorado, 316 grams of cocaine and 10 grams of heroin hidden inside.
In Ondo State, three suspects—Oyedele Daniel, Taye Saliu and Kehinde Saliu—were arrested along the Ipele-Idoani Road with 728 kilograms of skunk concealed in a truck. Two additional suspects were apprehended in Aponmu Forest with another 341 kilograms of the same substance.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives in Delta State recovered more than 176,000 assorted opioid pills, including tramadol and molly, during separate operations carried out between August 26 and 28.
Beyond enforcement, the agency said it sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, communities, workplaces and religious centres across several states, including Gombe, Kano, Edo, Ondo and Taraba.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the successful operations and urged commands nationwide to intensify efforts against drug traffickers who continue to devise new concealment methods, including hiding illicit substances in everyday household items such as soap.
