The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted multiple consignments of opioids concealed in shoe soles and hair attachments destined for the United States, United Kingdom, and Cyprus. The seizures were made at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, and at three courier companies in the state.
On October 12, 2024, NDLEA operatives confiscated 2,118 tramadol pills hidden within 13 pairs of shoes intended for Cyprus. A follow-up operation in Enugu on October 24 led to the arrest of the sender, Okenwa Kelvin Uchenna, from whose home an additional 380 tramadol tablets, N968,880 in cash, and a Toyota Avalon with plate number UWN 389 AS were recovered.
On October 24, NDLEA officers seized 293 ampoules of promethazine and pentazocine injections, as well as 1.690 kg of cannabis and tramadol tablets hidden in hair attachments and shoe soles intended for the United States, United Kingdom, and Oman.
In a separate operation at Lagos’s Tincan and Onne ports, NDLEA operatives, in a joint examination with Customs and other security agencies, intercepted 26,250,000 tramadol pills and 508,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup, valued at N16.6 billion in street price. The seizures, made between October 22 and 23, included 10 million tablets of Toradol Benzhexol and 28 plastic drums of methamphetamine weighing 700 kg. Additionally, 56 parcels of “Loud,” a synthetic cannabis strain weighing 28 kg, were seized from a container from Canada. A suspect, Tsolaye Eburajolo, 40, was arrested in connection with the seizure, and a N10 million bribe offered to NDLEA officers was retained as evidence.
Meanwhile, on October 25, NDLEA agents raided the Igbo-Igunuko shrine at Alfa Beach, Ajah, recovering 2,760 kg of Ghanaian Loud cannabis and arresting two suspects, Gbenga Abiodun and Sunday Abiodun. Another suspect, Ademola Oyelakin, was apprehended on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway with 770 kg of cannabis.
In Lagos, a raid on October 25 uncovered an underground storage for illicit drugs at the residence of Muhammad Warnos Abdullahi on Marwa Coastal Road, Lekki Phase 1. Concealed beneath his bedroom floor, the storage contained 11,786 pills of tramadol, molly, rohypnol, and diazepam, alongside 64 bottles of codeine syrup.
Additional arrests included Fadan Bindom, 39, in Plateau, with 65.85 kg of cannabis and 18 grams of tramadol, and Sunday Agbata, 42, found with 5,830 ampoules of bromazepam, diazepam, and pentazocine injections in Jos South LGA.
In Abuja, Umar Muhammed, 40, was arrested on October 21 after a 198.5 kg consignment of cannabis linked to him was seized at Wuse Market Park. In Edo state, operatives intercepted 640 kg of cannabis concealed in vegetable bags at Ewu junction, Irrua, Esan Central LGA, arresting Austin Oruamen, 27. Another suspect, Adereti Kazeem, 35, was detained with 200 blocks of cannabis weighing 133 kg in Ile-Ife, Osun State.
The NDLEA also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization efforts, holding educational sessions at schools, worship centers, workplaces, and communities nationwide, including lectures at Government Girls Secondary School, Sokoto; St. Mary College, Anambra; and Rugar Alhaji Manu Unguwan Sullubawa, Adamawa.
NDLEA Chairman and CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers from MMIA, Tincan, Port Harcourt, Lagos, FCT, Osun, Plateau, and Edo Commands, and the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), for their dedicated efforts in reducing drug supply and demand across the country.
