By Seun Ibiyemi
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted consignments of captagon, popularly known as the “Jihadi drug”, and millions of opioid tablets worth more than N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The agency also arrested a suspected cross-border drug kingpin and recovered cocaine, heroin and Colorado cannabis from a fireproof safe during a separate raid on a notorious drug den in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In a statement on Sunday, the NDLEA said its operatives arrested a 49-year-old suspect, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, at the Lagos airport on August 22 after he arrived from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.
The agency said a search of his carton containing local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap”, led to the discovery of 47,200 pills of captagon concealed inside the soap blocks.
The consignment, according to the NDLEA, had an estimated street value of more than N1.5 billion and was allegedly destined for northern Nigeria.
Captagon is an amphetamine-based stimulant that has been associated with militant and extremist networks in conflict zones.
The NDLEA said its first interception of captagon in Nigeria was recorded in September 2021 at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
In another operation at the Lagos airport, the agency recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 2,787.40kg and valued at more than N4.6 billion.
The drugs were discovered in four abandoned consignments at the airport’s import shed after the owners failed to take delivery.
Three consignments contained 900,000 tablets of Tramaking weighing 815.40kg and arrived on RwandAir flights from Bangladesh.
The fourth contained 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol weighing 1,972kg and was transported aboard Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.
The NDLEA said the consignments had been placed under surveillance before they were retrieved on August 28 following a joint examination involving its personnel, the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the agency arrested a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, in the Ikate area of Lekki, Lagos, on August 19.
Oludotun was allegedly arrested while attempting to collect 3.350kg of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided a notorious drug location in the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, recovering a fireproof iron safe.
According to the agency, officers used a welding machine to break open the safe on August 25, leading to the recovery of 237g of Colorado cannabis, 316g of cocaine and 10g of heroin.
The agency also reported major seizures in Ondo State, where three suspects—Oyedele Daniel, 42; Taye Saliu, 36; and Kehinde Saliu, 36—were arrested on August 28 along the Ipele-Idoani road.
A total of 728kg of skunk was recovered from their truck, marked KRE 120 XB.
Two other suspects, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were arrested on August 26 in Aponmu forest, where officers recovered another 341kg of skunk.
In Delta State, the agency recovered more than 176,000 tablets of assorted opioids, including tramadol and molly, during two separate interdiction operations conducted between August 26 and 28.
Beyond the seizures and arrests, the NDLEA said its commands across the country continued sensitisation programmes under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign.
The activities were held in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities in states including Gombe, Kano and Edo.
The Ondo State Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, while the Taraba Command met with Governor Agbu Kefas to strengthen state-level collaboration in combating drug abuse.
In Gombe, officers sensitised students and staff of Markaz Littahfizul Quran Wal Islamiyyat, Dadin Kowa, while a similar programme was conducted at Zangina Islamiyyah Alasawa Kurna in Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano State.
The agency also engaged youths participating in an adolescent lifestyle programme organised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in Benin City, Edo State.
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Commending personnel of the MMIA, Ondo and Delta commands for the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged officers to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
Marwa directed personnel to maintain pressure on drug traffickers, whom he said were becoming increasingly desperate and innovative in their attempts to transport illicit substances.
He specifically warned against the use of ordinary household items to conceal drugs following the discovery of captagon hidden inside bathing soap at the Lagos airport.
