National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded another major victory in its ongoing war against illicit drugs, intercepting a cache of opioids bound for Italy and arresting several suspects in coordinated operations across the country.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives stationed at the Terminal II departure hall on Thursday, December 18, arrested a 36-year-old businessman, Nwanwene Robinson Destiny, while he was attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy. A search of his luggage uncovered 1,020 pills of tramadol 225mg and tapentadol 200mg, neatly concealed.
Confirming the arrest, NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said the suspect, who claimed to be based in Italy, admitted that the delivery of the opioids would have earned him €200.
“The suspect claimed the successful trafficking of the opioids to Italy would have fetched him Two Hundred Euros (€200.00) from the person he was to deliver them to,” Babafemi disclosed.
The anti-narcotics agency also recorded significant seizures at the nation’s borders and highways. At the Seme border in the Badagry area of Lagos, NDLEA officers arrested a 48-year-old Beninoise, Leocardi Josu, who was attempting to enter Nigeria with 3,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg.
In a separate operation along the Okene–Lokoja highway, a 30-year-old suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, was apprehended on Friday, December 19, with 28.400 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, alongside Colorado, a synthetic variant.
Babafemi further revealed that Oyo State was also a hotspot during the week-long operations. “In Oyo state, NDLEA operatives on Friday 19th December recovered 125,000 capsules of tramadol and 1,800 ampoules of pentazocine injection in a Toyota Hiace bus marked XD 592 AWL along Lagos-Ibadan expressway,” he said.
Additionally, two suspects — Ogunlade Kazeem, 54, and Adeleke Ismail, 30 — were arrested with 185.4 kilograms of skunk at Challenge motor park, Ibadan, on Wednesday, December 17.
In Osun State, NDLEA operatives stormed the Owena/Ijesha forest, where 405 kilograms of skunk were seized and a suspect, Charles James, 45, was arrested on Friday, December 19. On the same day, officers along the Abuja–Kaduna highway arrested Jamilu Zakari, 42, with 14,960 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in two kolanut sacks (huhun goro) being transported from Abuja to Gusau, Zamfara State.
Beyond enforcement, Babafemi said the agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy nationwide. NDLEA officers conducted sensitisation programmes in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities, including enlightenment lectures for students and staff in Anambra, youth programmes in Katsina, and engagements with members of the NURTW in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, among others.
Commending the efforts of his men, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the officers of the Special Operations Unit, MMIA, Seme, Kogi, Kaduna, Oyo and Osun Commands for their professionalism and operational efficiency.
He urged them “to remain extra vigilant during the festive season and ensure that highest standard of professionalism is maintained in all their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities all through the period and beyond.”
The latest seizures underscore NDLEA’s resolve to disrupt drug trafficking networks and protect communities, even as the festive season approaches.
Tom Chiahemen
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