The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 47,200 pills of captagon concealed in locally made bathing soap popularly known as “Ghana Soap,” alongside 3.9 million tablets of assorted opioids at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The consignments, with a combined estimated street value of more than N6.2 billion, were intercepted in separate operations as the agency intensified its crackdown on drug trafficking networks operating through the country’s airports and other entry points.
According to an official statement signed by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, the captagon consignment was intercepted on Saturday, August 22, 2026, following the arrest of a 49-year-old cross-border drug kingpin, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins.
Aikins, who arrived from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight, was arrested after NDLEA operatives searched his carton of “Ghana Soap” and discovered 47,200 pills of captagon concealed inside the blocks of soap.
The consignment was valued at more than N1.5 billion, while the suspect reportedly told investigators that he was expected to deliver the illicit drug in northern Nigeria.
Captagon, an illicit amphetamine-based drug, has been described as the “Jihadi drug” because of its reported association with extremist activities and conflict zones. The NDLEA first intercepted the substance in Nigeria in September 2021 at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, with a combined gross weight of 2,787.40 kilogrammes and an estimated street value of more than N4.6 billion.
The opioid consignments were recovered from four abandoned packages at the import shed of the MMIA after the intended recipients failed to appear to claim them.
Three of the consignments contained 900,000 tablets of Tramaking weighing 815.40kg and arrived aboard RwandAir flights from Bangladesh, while the fourth contained 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol weighing 1,972kg and arrived on Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.
The agency said the consignments had been placed under close watch after no one showed up to claim them and were formally retrieved on Friday, August 28, following a joint examination involving NDLEA officers, the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders.
The latest interceptions underscore the increasingly sophisticated methods being employed by drug traffickers to conceal illicit substances and move them across international borders, including the use of ordinary household products as cover.
The NDLEA also reported the arrest of a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, who was apprehended at Ikate, Lekki, on August 19 after allegedly arriving to collect 3.350kg of “Loud,” a synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.
In Rivers State, operatives raided the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, recovering a fireproof iron safe which was later opened with a welding machine. The operation yielded 237 grammes of Colorado, 316 grammes of cocaine and 10 grammes of heroin.
The agency further reported the seizure of 728kg of skunk in Ondo State, where three suspects were arrested along the Ipele-Idoani Road, as well as another 341kg recovered from two suspects at Aponmu Forest.
In Delta State, more than 176,000 tablets of assorted opioids, including tramadol and Molly, were recovered in two separate interdiction operations conducted between August 26 and 28.
Commending officers and men involved in the operations, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
Marwa also directed officers to maintain the pressure on traffickers who continue to explore unconventional concealment methods, including the use of everyday household items such as soap, to transport illicit drug consignments.
