The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in two long-haul trailers heading to Kano from Lagos, dealing another major blow to a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo–Benin Republic–Nigeria corridor.
The agency also arrested an 80-year-old suspected drug dealer, a businesswoman, a Chadian national, a couple and several other suspects in coordinated anti-narcotics operations across Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Kogi states.
Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement, saying the latest seizures followed intelligence-led operations targeting a drug syndicate responsible for smuggling large consignments of tramadol into Nigeria through neighbouring countries.
According to him, the first trailer, carrying 853,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) hidden in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor, was intercepted along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on 2 July 2026. The 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru, was arrested.
Two days later, on 4 July, NDLEA operatives intercepted a second trailer on the same route, recovering 777,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) similarly concealed in a false compartment. The driver, Muhammed Nuhu, also 22, was taken into custody.
Babafemi said investigations revealed that the two trailers, together with another truck intercepted on 21 June, belonged to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo through the Benin Republic into Nigeria.
In another operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted 4.70 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, concealed in cartons marked “Odugwu.”
The consignments, which arrived on British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights from Canada on 24 June and 3 July, led to the arrest of cargo agents Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, as well as Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislaus, who arrived to collect the shipments.
Further investigations resulted in the arrest of 44-year-old businesswoman Chioma Nneka Mokeme in Surulere, Lagos, on 7 July, in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force. She reportedly admitted that a Canada-based associate introduced her to the illicit trade.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested 80-year-old Chika Ugwoji in Ahoada on 14 July, recovering 800 grams of skunk from him.
In Edo State, operatives raided a drug warehouse along Sapele Road in Benin City, arresting a couple—Christian Chukwuka, 32, and Nwanneka Christian, 33. Recovered during the operation were 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5 kilograms and 192.67 kilograms of Canadian Loud.
Similarly, a 38-year-old Chadian woman, Hajara Abdullahi, and her Nigerian accomplice, Abdulkarim Jidda, 44, were arrested in Lagos after investigators linked them to 50,000 pills of tramadol (225mg) earlier intercepted in Kogi State.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign with sensitisation programmes in schools across Katsina, Enugu, Lagos, Rivers, Ekiti and Kano states to educate students and communities on the dangers of drug abuse.
Commending officers of the MMIA, Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Kogi Commands for the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their commitment to the nation’s drug control efforts and urged them to remain vigilant in the fight against illicit drug trafficking.
