The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a large consignment of cocaine concealed in imported dry stockfish heads and arrested a suspected member of an international drug trafficking syndicate operating across multiple countries, including India.
In a statement on Sunday, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the seizure followed credible intelligence on trans-border criminal activities. This led to a coordinated sting operation by operatives of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Strategic Command in the Ojo area of Lagos on March 19.
Babafemi said operatives recovered 237 wraps of cocaine weighing 5.80 kilograms, concealed in stockfish heads, popularly known as “okporoko”, packed in three jumbo bags. The consignment was allegedly in the possession of a 36-year-old suspect, Akputa Dickson Ejike, and was bound for Delhi, India.
In a separate operation on March 25, NDLEA operatives at a courier company in Lagos intercepted two illicit consignments destined for the United Kingdom. One contained 1.9 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in automobile filters, while the other comprised 40 ampoules of morphine sulphate and nine ampoules of fentanyl.
The agency also arrested a suspected female drug baron, Omolade Abigail Jolayemi, 46, popularly known as “Iya Ghana,” during a raid at her residence in Yaba, Lagos, where 135 blocks of “Ghana Loud” weighing 76.30 kilograms were recovered. Another suspect, Anayo Lucky Ohabiro, 39, was arrested in Surulere with 78 blocks of the same substance weighing 41 kilograms.
Babafemi further disclosed that in Ekiti State, an 80-year-old suspect, Oke Samuel, was arrested during a raid in Efon-Alaaye with 2.2 kilograms of skunk and methamphetamine. In neighbouring Ondo State, operatives recovered 894.72 kilograms of skunk from an uncompleted building, leading to the arrest of another suspect.
Additional operations in Benue, Edo, and Taraba states resulted in the seizure of various illicit substances, including skunk, codeine-based syrup, and cannabis concealed in animal feed, with multiple suspects taken into custody.
Babafemi added that the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign continues nationwide, with sensitisation programmes conducted in schools across Cross River, Adamawa, Oyo, Kano, and Lagos states.
He commended NDLEA officers involved in the operations and reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to tackling both drug supply and demand across the country.
