National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Indian businessman Gupta Ravi Kumar and three Nigerians—Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode, and Bakare Korede Muheeb—following the seizure of 2,248,000 tramadol pills valued at N3.9 billion at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
The tramadol, concealed as multi-vitamins in 114 cartons, arrived from Delhi, India, on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on September 8, 2025, according to NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi.
NDLEA operatives, who had the consignment under surveillance, apprehended a clearing agent and two drivers attempting to move the shipment on two trucks on September 11.
He said a follow-up operation the next day led to Kumar’s arrest as he tried to take delivery of the drugs.
In a separate incident at MMIA’s Terminal 2 departure gate on September 7, NDLEA officers intercepted Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi, a passenger bound for Doha on Qatar Airways, with 900 grams of skunk (a cannabis strain) hidden in crayfish.
Onyeganochi, a first-time traveler, claimed the bag was given to him by Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna, a Qatar-based Nigerian who accompanied him to the airport.
Uchenna was arrested, and a search of his Ajao Estate hotel room uncovered an additional 200 grams of skunk. Uchenna admitted he planned to retrieve the bag in Doha if Onyeganochi had evaded security.
At Tincan Port, NDLEA seized 81.7 kg of Canadian Loud (another cannabis strain) and 1.2 kg of hashish oil from a 40ft container of vehicle spare parts and used vehicles from Montreal, Canada, on September 9.
Two suspects, John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, were detained. On September 11, operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle on the Third Mainland Bridge, recovering 65 kg of Canadian Loud and arresting the driver, Abubakar Ibrahim, 42.
NDLEA also seized methamphetamine hidden in a picture frame destined for Gabon (6 grams) and 1.1 kg of Loud concealed in video players bound for the UAE from two Lagos courier companies on September 8 and 11. In Ikorodu, a raid on a factory producing “skuchies” (a cannabis and black currant drink blend) yielded 6,029 bottles of the substance, 4,232 kg of cannabis, and the arrest of factory manager Joy Awosika.
Another suspect, Akeem Oriola, was arrested in Mushin with 26 kg of skunk on the same day.
In Abuja, NDLEA arrested dispatch rider Godsplan Vincent, 29, with 50.7 grams of cocaine and 66 grams of Loud during a stop-and-search operation in Utako on September 11. In Oyo State, three women—Faidat Azeez, 25, Alanu Fatimoh, 40, and Mojeed Taiwo, 25—were arrested in Lagbondoko and Akitan with 17 kg of skunk.
In Kano, 100,000 tramadol pills were seized from Musa Shuaibu, 38, on September 8 along the Zaria-Kano road.
NDLEA also recovered 196 liters of Akuskura (a new psychoactive substance), 34.1 kg of skunk, 493 tubes of rubber solution, and 25 liters of “suck and die” (another NPS) from Basiru Umar, 18, in Kumbotso LGA on September 11.
In Anambra, a couple, Nzube and Ebele Onyedika, aged 41 and 42, were arrested in Obosi with 13.9 kg of methamphetamine and 5.3 kg of skunk.
Another suspect, Nnamchi Tochukwu, 36, was nabbed with various quantities of methamphetamine, tramadol, swinol, heroin, and skunk. In Yobe, Mohammed Auwal was arrested in Potiskum with 22.1 kg of cannabis, while in Ogun State, three trans-border traffickers—Kunyadi Kunle Ogbungbun, 24, Olalekan Adewale, 20, and Sanya Joshua, 22—were apprehended with 394 kg of skunk in Imeko on September 7, alongside three motorcycles used in the operation.
In Edo State, NDLEA destroyed 16,966.633 kg of skunk on a 6.78-hectare cannabis plantation in Ugbogyi forest, Ovia South West LGA, and recovered 1,176 kg of processed cannabis.
Four suspects—Ebenezer Ewang, Oshore John, Emmanuel Monday, and David Sunday—were arrested.
NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization efforts continued, with lectures delivered to drivers in Enugu, Islamic faithful in Oyo and Niger, students in Katsina, and a visit to the Osile Oke-Ona Egba, Oba Adedapo Adewale Tejuosho, in Ogun State.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the agency’s MMIA, DOGI, Tincan, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Kano, FCT, Anambra, Yobe, and Ogun commands for their arrests and seizures, urging them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
By OLA MODUPE, Lagos-
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