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Operatives from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully prevented attempts by various drug trafficking organizations (DTO) to transport illegal shipments, including Cocaine, Tramadol, Loud, Molly, and others, disguised in items like prayer beads, board game packs, and women's clothing to countries such as the US, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Poland, and the UAE, using logistics companies and the Lagos airport.
A statement released on Sunday by the agency's spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, indicated that at least two individuals linked to some of these foiled operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos have already been apprehended. One of them, Jakpor May, a 43-year-old businesswoman, was caught at the Gate 'C' departure area of the Lagos airport while trying to board an Air France flight to Italy on Saturday, March 8, 2025.
Babafemi reported that during her search, 190 parcels of tramadol 225mg and another parcel containing skunk, a cannabis strain, were found in her luggage. She claimed the drugs were purchased for resale in Italy. NDLEA officers arrested a 60-year-old suspect, Yahaya Ayinla, at the export shed of the Lagos airport last Tuesday while he was attempting to send a shipment containing clothes that hid 400 grams of skunk to New York, US.
He further disclosed that NDLEA operatives from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) foiled drug traffickers' efforts to export over two kilograms of Loud, Molly, and Tramadol 365mg and 225mg concealed in Vitamin C bottles and female clothing to the US. Additionally, other shipments containing 230 grams of cocaine hidden in prayer beads, soles of locally made shoes, and board game packs destined for Saudi Arabia, Poland, and the UAE were intercepted between Monday, March 10, and Wednesday, March 12.
In Kano, NDLEA operatives recovered 727 blocks of compressed skunk weighing 479 kilograms from a 40-year-old suspect, Hassan Haruna, arrested in Chalawa area last Wednesday. Moreover, they intercepted nearly 58,300 tramadol pills along the Kabba-Obajana highway in Kogi state from a commercial bus traveling from Lagos to Abuja last Tuesday.
Raid operations in Kachia, Kaduna State last Thursday led to the arrest of Idris Hamza, aged 21, with 4,900 pills of tramadol 225mg seized from him. Another raid in the Hayin Banki area of Kaduna North Local Government resulted in the arrest of 25-year-old Aminu Magaji, who had 2,900 tablets of tramadol 225mg.
A total of 40,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg were recovered from the suspects Olowoko Faruk and Akeem Ridwan along the Ilorin – Jebba expressway in Bode Saadu, Kwara State last Friday. On the same day, NDLEA operatives also seized 21,700 capsules of the same opioid from a suspect, Salisu Usman, along the Eiyenkorin expressway in Ilorin last Thursday.
In Taraba State, NDLEA officers arrested Polycarp Adeku, 35, at Bente Road in Kurmi Local Government Area last Friday, with 15.77 kilograms of skunk. In Osun State, operatives intercepted a commercial bus with registration SGB 564 YS coming from Idumota, Lagos Island, in front of King University, Ode-omu, containing a total of 48.7 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, Colorado, and Canadian Loud, all types of cannabis.
Over nine suspects were arrested in connection with these seizures in Osogbo and Ile-Ife during follow-up operations. A 58-year-old suspect, Ade Esan (aka Pastor), was apprehended last Tuesday along the Gwagwalada expressway in the FCT Abuja with 27,800 pills of tramadol 225mg. Another suspect, Usman Mohammed, age 26, was also arrested the same day with various quantities of skunk and cocaine in the Wuse zone 3 area of Abuja.
In Abia State, last Saturday, NDLEA operatives raided the Ntigha Community in Isiala-Ngwa North Local Government Area, arresting a 34-year-old suspect, Chinaza Nwogu (aka Young Money), with 274 grams of heroin, 141 grams of methamphetamine, 2.931 kilograms of cannabis sativa, 4 grams of cocaine, and a monetary exhibit of N753,015.
Simultaneously, the agency's commands and formations across the nation continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization programs in schools, worship centers, workplaces, and communities over the past week. The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd.), praised the officials from MMIA, DOGI, and other state commands for their arrests and seizures. He acknowledged their successful operations and their balanced strategies in both reducing drug supply and addressing drug demand issues.
