Anti-drug agency intercepts illicit consignments linked to a transnational trafficking syndicate as nationwide operations net an 80-year-old suspect, a businesswoman and others

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its nationwide offensive against illicit drug trafficking, recording a major NDLEA tramadol seizure after intercepting 1.63 million tramadol pills concealed in two articulated trucks travelling from Lagos to Kano and arresting several suspects, including an 80-year-old alleged drug dealer, a businesswoman and a Chadian national.

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The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said on Sunday that the coordinated operations were driven by intelligence targeting a transnational drug trafficking syndicate allegedly smuggling tramadol into Nigeria through the Togo and Benin Republic corridor.

According to Babafemi, the latest seizures followed the interception of 558,900 tramadol pills recovered from another truck operating along the same route barely a week earlier, suggesting that all three consignments were linked to the same criminal network.

The first truck was intercepted along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on July 2, where operatives discovered 853,000 tablets of tramadol 250mg concealed inside a specially fabricated compartment beneath the vehicle’s cargo floor.

The 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru, was arrested at the scene.

Two days later, NDLEA operatives tracked and intercepted another articulated truck on the same highway, recovering an additional 777,000 tramadol pills hidden beneath the cargo compartment.

The agency arrested the truck’s 22-year-old driver, Muhammed Nuhu.

Babafemi said investigations established that the trucks intercepted on June 21, July 2 and July 4 all belonged to the same transnational trafficking syndicate operating across Togo, the Benin Republic and Nigeria.

In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted two consignments containing 4.70 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a highly potent synthetic strain of cannabis.

The illicit consignments, which arrived on British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights from Canada, were concealed inside cartons prominently labelled “Odugwu”, according to the agency.

The investigation led to the arrest of cargo agents Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga before another suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, was apprehended while attempting to collect the consignments from a logistics company.

Further intelligence gathering culminated in the arrest of the alleged owner of the shipments, 44-year-old businesswoman Chioma Nneka Mokeme, in Surulere, Lagos, on July 7 in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Area C Command.

Babafemi said Mokeme, who identified herself as a printing business operator, allegedly told investigators that a Canada-based associate, identified as Agbons Collins, introduced her to the illicit trade.

Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives arrested 80-year-old Chika Ugwoji in Ahoada, Rivers State, after allegedly recovering 800 grams of skunk from his possession.

In Edo State, officers dismantled an alleged drug warehouse in Benin City and arrested a couple, Christian Chukwuka, 32, and Nwanneka Christian, 33.

Recovered from the premises were 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5 kilograms and compressed blocks of Canadian Loud with a combined weight of 192.67 kilograms.

In another intelligence-led operation, the agency traced a consignment of 50,000 tramadol pills initially intercepted in Kogi State to a 38-year-old Chadian national, Hajara Abdullahi, and her alleged Nigerian accomplice, Abdulkarim Jidda, 44. Both suspects were subsequently arrested in the Apapa area of Lagos.

Beyond enforcement activities, the NDLEA said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse campaign by conducting awareness programmes in schools across Katsina, Enugu, Lagos, Rivers, Ekiti and Kano states as part of efforts to reduce drug abuse through education and public sensitisation.

Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised personnel from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Kogi Commands for their dedication to the agency’s anti-narcotics campaign.

Marwa urged officers across the country to sustain the relentless momentum against drug trafficking and abuse, describing intelligence-led enforcement and preventive education as complementary pillars in the agency’s strategy to curb the illicit drug trade.

The latest operations underscore the NDLEA’s continuing focus on dismantling organised trafficking networks that exploit Nigeria’s land borders, airports and transport corridors to distribute illicit substances across the country.

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At the same time, the agency has maintained that public awareness campaigns remain essential to reducing demand and preventing drug abuse, particularly among young people.