The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, and three Nigerian accomplices after intercepting 2,248,000 pills of tramadol worth ₦3.99 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The shipment, disguised as multivitamins in 114 cartons, was imported from Delhi, India, on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on September 8, 2025. NDLEA operatives, who had placed the consignment under surveillance, swooped on a clearing agent and two drivers attempting to move the drugs out of the airport on September 11. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Kumar when he attempted to take delivery of the consignment.
In a related operation at MMIA, NDLEA officers arrested a passenger, Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi, traveling to Doha on a Qatar Airways flight with 900 grams of skunk concealed in crayfish. His confession led to the arrest of Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna, the mastermind, with an additional 200 grams of the drug found in his hotel room at Ajao Estate, Lagos.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at the Tincan Port, Lagos, uncovered 161 parcels of Canadian Loud (81.7kg) and 1.2kg of hashish oil hidden in a container of vehicle spare parts from Canada. Two suspects, John Ochigbo and Okeke Kingsley, were arrested. Another 65kg shipment of Loud was intercepted on the Third Mainland Bridge, with suspect Abubakar Ibrahim arrested.
At courier companies in Lagos, officers seized methamphetamine hidden in picture frames and 1.1kg of Loud concealed in video players bound for Gabon and the UAE, respectively.
In Ikorodu, Lagos, NDLEA raided a skuchies (cannabis-laced drink) factory in Caritas, Ibeshe, recovering 6,029 bottles of the substance and 4,232kg of cannabis. The factory manager, Joy Awosika, was arrested alongside another suspect in Mushin with 26kg of skunk.
Other nationwide raids included:
- Abuja: A dispatch rider arrested with cocaine and Loud.
- Oyo State: Three women caught with 17kg of skunk.
- Kano: Seizure of 100,000 tramadol pills, Akuskura drinks, and other narcotics.
- Anambra: A couple arrested with 19kg of methamphetamine and skunk.
- Yobe: Recovery of 22kg cannabis.
- Ogun State: Arrest of three traffickers with 394kg of skunk.
- Edo State: Destruction of nearly 17 tonnes of cannabis on a large plantation.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the officers for their efforts and urged them to sustain the momentum in the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA).