By Ajibola Olaide, JKNewsMedia Reporter
THE NATIONAL Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has carried out a string of high-impact operations across Nigeria, intercepting illicit substances worth more than ₦3.4 billion, thwarting arms trafficking, and apprehending a long-wanted drug trafficker after nearly a year in hiding.
More than 3.5 million opioid pills and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrup were seized by NDLEA operatives in Lagos and Port Harcourt in one of the largest drug interdiction efforts of the year.
A joint task force, which included NDLEA agents, Customs officers, and other security personnel, uncovered the contraband during a container inspection at the Onne Ports Complex in Rivers State on 29 April.
The container held two million pills of tafrodol and the full stock of codeine syrup.
On the same day in Lagos, NDLEA officers arrested Olarenwaju Wahab in the Alaba-Rago area of Ojo, where he was found with 1.5 million opioid pills.
Investigators traced the origin of the shipment to a residence in Victoria Garden City, Lekki, occupied by Obinna Kenneth, who remains at large.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, another major seizure took place between 30 April and 3 May.
NDLEA officers discovered 42 parcels of high-grade Canadian Loud cannabis, weighing 20kg, concealed in tins of chocolate, powdered beverage, and kidney beans.
The packages arrived aboard a British Airways flight from Canada. Three suspects, including consignment receiver Monsurat Ewawunmi Lawson, were taken into custody.
A separate airport bust on 2 May led to the arrest of Bobby Morris Osas, who attempted to smuggle over 8,000 tramadol pills aboard a Turkish Airlines flight to Italy.
A courier shipment destined for Iraq was intercepted on 28 April, where NDLEA operatives uncovered 104 grams of tramadol and skunk stashed in bottles of body cream.
Beyond drug seizures, the agency intercepted a commercial vehicle along the Kaduna–Zaria Expressway on 3 May. A search revealed 942 explosives hidden in a sack.
A 30-year-old suspect, Nura Sani Muhammad, also known as Nura Hariji, was arrested. NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) directed the immediate transfer of the suspect and exhibits to relevant security authorities.
A syndicate of five led by Aminu Musa (alias Kadagi) was dismantled on 30 April in Kano’s Dangoro Market, where officers seized 21.6kg of skunk.
In Edo State, intelligence-led operations on 1 May stopped a white Toyota bus in Uromi en route from Onitsha to Auchi. Inside, officers recovered 314,020 pills of opioids, 638 bottles of codeine syrup, and 200 ampoules of pentazocine injection. A suspect, Dare Adeyemo, was arrested.
Additional seizures occurred in Anambra and Niger States. In Awka, NDLEA agents intercepted a Mazda bus on 30 April, recovering over 50,000 tramadol capsules, 500 co-codamol tablets, and 300 ampoules of pentazocine, leading to the arrest of Chinedu Eneh.
In Niger State, a Mitsubishi truck was stopped along the Kontagora–Mokwa Road on 3 May, yielding 5,500 tramadol capsules and 2,300 ampoules of pentazocine. A suspect, Yusuf Abubakar, 30, was apprehended.
On 26 April, NDLEA closed in on Dominic Chiegozie Obijiaku, Managing Director of Ovidaq International Ltd, ending a 10-month investigation.
Obijiaku had been implicated in the July 2024 interception of a container carrying over 2.6 million tramadol pills at Apapa seaport.
A raid on his residence in Lekki uncovered an additional 51 wraps of Canadian Loud weighing 34 grams.
The agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) programme remained active throughout the week, with sensitisation campaigns reaching institutions including Al-Istigama University in Kano and Government Girls Junior Secondary School in Kankia, Katsina State.
NDLEA Chairman Marwa commended the operatives across all zones involved in the operations for their strategic coordination and commitment to balancing drug supply suppression with public health-focused demand reduction.
