Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted large consignments of opioids, cannabis and methamphetamine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja and a courier facility in Lagos.
The illicit drugs were ingeniously concealed in everyday items, including body cream containers, winter jackets and even the walls of cartons, underscoring the lengths traffickers go to evade detection.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, two suspects bound for Italy were arrested in separate operations.
One of them, Friday Ehianuka, was intercepted while attempting to board a flight to Rome with thousands of tramadol pills hidden inside containers of skin-lightening cream. He reportedly admitted he had been promised payment in euros if the shipment reached its destination, highlighting the lucrative and transnational nature of the trade.
Days earlier, another suspect, Christian Agbonhese, was arrested while trying to board a flight to Milan. A search of his luggage uncovered more than 28,000 pills of tramadol and tapentadol carefully concealed within winter jackets.
The airport seizures formed part of a broader nationwide crackdown. At a Lagos courier facility, NDLEA officers intercepted a parcel containing a potent strain of cannabis known as “Loud,” shipped from the United States. In the same operation, they thwarted an attempt to export methamphetamine hidden within carton walls to New Zealand.
In Kano State, two suspects were arrested with nearly 200 kilograms of skunk, while in Lagos, operatives raided a storage facility in the Ijora area, recovering over 21,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup, an increasingly abused substance. Two additional suspects were apprehended on the Third Mainland Bridge while transporting thousands more bottles.
In Edo State, officers uncovered nearly 100 kilograms of skunk concealed in a residential building. In Abuja, a commercial bus was intercepted along the Gwagwalada expressway with over 91,000 tramadol pills hidden within its body panels, leading to the immediate arrest of the driver.
Similar operations in Oyo, Kaduna and Taraba states further exposed the scale of the illicit trade. In one of the largest seizures, NDLEA operatives recovered more than half a million tramadol and other opioid pills along the Kaduna–Zaria highway. Another suspect was intercepted in Taraba while transporting tens of thousands of tramadol capsules.
In Adamawa State, a follow-up intelligence-led operation led to the arrest of six individuals linked to an 82.8kg tramadol shipment earlier discovered in a truck in Yola, demonstrating the agency’s coordinated enforcement strategy.
Beyond enforcement, the NDLEA is intensifying its prevention drive through its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, engaging students, teachers and communities across several states to raise awareness about the dangers of drug abuse.
Chairman of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations and urged sustained vigilance. He stressed the importance of balancing aggressive enforcement with continuous public education in tackling the drug menace.
