…seizes huge quantities of illicit drugs nationwide
By Nkechi Eze
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded another major breakthrough in its ongoing fight against narcotics trafficking, with the arrest of an Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, and three Nigerian accomplices in connection with the seizure of over two million pills of tramadol worth nearly four billion naira at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
In a statement signed by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the Agency disclosed that the consignment, containing a staggering 2,248,000 tramadol 200mg/225mg pills, was smuggled into the country from Delhi, India, disguised as multi-vitamins. Packed in 114 cartons, the illicit shipment arrived aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Monday, 8th September 2025.
Valued at ₦3.99 billion on the streets, the drugs were closely monitored by NDLEA operatives who had placed the consignment under surveillance. On Thursday, 11th September, a clearing agent and two drivers attempting to move the consignment in two trucks were apprehended. A follow-up operation the next day led to the arrest of Kumar, who was caught as he tried to take delivery of the shipment. His Nigerian collaborators identified as Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode, and Bakare Korede Muheeb were also arrested.
The NDLEA said the tramadol seizure was one of several high-profile operations conducted within the past week across the country.
At the terminal 2 departure gate of MMIA on Sunday, 7th September, operatives intercepted a passenger, Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi, bound for Doha on a Qatar Airlines flight. A search of his luggage uncovered 900 grams of skunk cannabis concealed in crayfish. Onyeganochi, a first-time traveler, confessed the bag was handed to him by one Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna, a Nigerian based in Qatar, who accompanied him to the airport. Uchenna was swiftly arrested within the airport premises, and a subsequent search of his hotel room in Ajao Estate uncovered an additional 200 grams of the drug.
At Tincan Port, Lagos, joint examination of a 40-foot container of vehicle spare parts and used vehicles imported from Montreal, Canada, yielded 161 parcels of Canadian Loud cannabis weighing 81.7kg and 1.2kg of hashish oil on Tuesday, 9th September. Two suspects, John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, were arrested in connection with the seizure. Another consignment of Canadian Loud weighing 65kg was tracked from the port to the Third Mainland Bridge, where operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle transporting the drugs and arrested the driver, Abubakar Ibrahim, 42, on Thursday, 11th September.
The Agency also intercepted two separate shipments of methamphetamine and Loud concealed in picture frames and video players at two courier companies in Lagos on Monday, 8th September, and Thursday, 11th September. While 6 grams of meth hidden in a picture frame were destined for Gabon, 1.1kg of Loud cannabis disguised in decoder machines was bound for the United Arab Emirates.
In Ikorodu, Lagos, a factory producing “skuchies,” a mixture of cannabis and blackcurrant drink, was raided on Thursday, 11th September. Operatives seized 6,029 bottles of the psychoactive drink and 4,232kg of cannabis. The factory manager, Joy Awosika, was arrested, while another suspect, Akeem Oriola, was apprehended in Mushin the same day with 26kg of skunk.
In Abuja, NDLEA operatives on a stop-and-search operation at Utako on Thursday, 11th September, arrested a dispatch rider, 29-year-old Godsplan Vincent, with 50.7 grams of cocaine and 66 grams of Loud. In Oyo State, three women Faidat Azeez, 25; Alanu Fatimoh, 40; and Mojeed Taiwo, 25 were arrested in Lagbondoko and Akitan areas of Oyo town with 17kg of skunk in their possession.
In Kano State, operatives on Monday, 8th September, intercepted 100,000 tramadol pills from one Musa Shuaibu, 38, along the Zaria–Kano road at Gadar Tamburawa. On Thursday, 11th September, they recovered 196 litres of Akuskura, a new psychoactive substance, from Abubakar Adamu, 35, at Na’ibawa. At Wailari, Kumbotso LGA, another suspect, Basiru Umar, 18, was caught with 34.1kg of skunk, 493 tubes of rubber solution, and 25 litres of “suck and die,” another dangerous psychoactive substance.
In Anambra State, a couple, Nzube and Ebele Onyedika, aged 41 and 42 respectively, were arrested during a raid in Obosi, where operatives recovered 13.9kg of methamphetamine and 5.3kg of skunk. Another suspect, Nnamchi Tochukwu, 36, was caught with varying quantities of meth, tramadol, swinol, heroin, and skunk.
In Yobe State, a raid on the home of Mohammed Auwal in Gadan Talakawa, Potiskum, led to the recovery of 36 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.1kg. Similarly, in Ogun State, three suspected trans-border traffickers Kunyadi Kunle Ogbungbun, 24; Olalekan Adewale, 20; and Sanya Joshua, 22 were arrested with 394kg of skunk during a joint operation involving NDLEA operatives, police, and local vigilante in Imeko on Sunday, 7th September. Three motorcycles used to transport the drugs were also seized.
In Edo State, operatives destroyed a cannabis plantation measuring 6.7 hectares in Ugbogyi forest, Ovia South West LGA. A total of 16,966.633kg of skunk was destroyed on-site, while 112 bags of processed cannabis weighing 1,176kg were recovered. Four suspects, Ebenezer Ewang, Oshore John, Emmanuel Monday, and David Sunday were arrested at the farm.
Meanwhile, NDLEA formations across the country intensified the Agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, motor parks, workplaces, and communities. Highlights of the outreach included lectures at Onitsha South Motor Park in Enugu North, sensitisation at Otu Central Mosque in Oyo, advocacy to students and staff of Salamah International School in Malumfashi, Katsina, awareness campaigns at Wawa Central Mosque in Niger State, and a WADA advocacy visit by the Ogun State command to Oba Adedapo Adewale Tejuosho, the Osile Oke-Ona Egba, Karounwi III.
Commending the operatives across MMIA, Tincan, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Kano, FCT, Anambra, Yobe, and Ogun States, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), praised the officers for their resilience and dedication. He urged them to sustain the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control, combining aggressive enforcement with preventive advocacy.
