Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted significant shipments of opioids, cannabis, and methamphetamine at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, and a courier firm in Lagos.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed in a statement on Sunday that two suspects traveling to Italy were arrested in separate operations. The drugs were concealed in everyday items, including body cream containers, winter jackets, and carton walls.
One suspect, 37-year-old Friday Ehianuka, a resident of Milan, was stopped on March 20 while trying to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome with 2,698 tramadol 225mg pills hidden inside body cream containers. Ehianuka admitted he was to be paid in Euros for successfully trafficking the consignment.
In another arrest on March 18, Christian Agbonhese was apprehended at the Lagos airport departure hall while attempting to board a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Milan. His luggage contained 28,470 opioid pills—including tramadol and tapentadol—concealed in two large winter jackets.
NDLEA also intercepted two parcels of cannabis weighing 1kg from the United States and 158 grams of methamphetamine hidden in carton walls destined for New Zealand.
In Kano, Abdulkadir Mamuda, 35, and Uche Johnson Festus, 47, were arrested with 102.5kg and 95.5kg of skunk cannabis, respectively. In Lagos, a raid at a storage facility in Ijora yielded over 21,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup, with two additional suspects apprehended on the Third Mainland Bridge transporting more bottles.
In Oyo State, Bankole Bari was caught smuggling 71.2kg of skunk from Benin Republic via the Oyan River. Along the Kaduna-Zaria highway, Lawal Anas and Musa Shuaibu were arrested with 586,000 tramadol and Exol-5 pills, while in Taraba, Aliyu Adamu was intercepted transporting 77,660 tramadol capsules to Gombe.
In Adamawa State, six suspects—Ramatu Aliyu, Jungudo Abdullahi, Najid Abdullahi, Musa Mohammed, Usman Abdulrahim, and another Musa Mohammed—were arrested in connection with 82.8kg of tramadol seized in Yola.
The NDLEA continues its nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking, uncovering shipments cleverly disguised in ordinary items and transit routes.
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