Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted multiple consignments of illicit drugs, including opioids and methamphetamine, cleverly concealed in carton walls, winter jackets, and body cream containers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, as well as at a courier facility in Lagos.
Two suspects linked to shipments bound for Italy were arrested at the airport. One of them, Friday Ehianuka, 37, was apprehended on March 20 while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome with 2,698 tramadol pills hidden inside body cream containers in his luggage. He later admitted he was to be paid in euros upon successful delivery.
In a separate operation on March 18, NDLEA officers arrested Christian Agbonhese, 38, who was about to board a Lufthansa flight to Milan. A search of his luggage uncovered 28,470 opioid pills, including tramadol and tapentadol, concealed in winter jackets.
At a Lagos courier firm, officers intercepted parcels containing 1kg of a potent cannabis strain known as “Loud,” shipped from the United States. Another consignment of 158 grams of methamphetamine concealed within carton walls and destined for New Zealand was also seized.
Across the country, NDLEA operatives carried out further raids and arrests. In Kano, two suspects were caught with a combined 198kg of skunk. In Lagos, 21,737 bottles of codeine syrup were recovered from a store in Ijora, while two suspects were arrested on the Third Mainland Bridge transporting an additional 8,380 bottles.
Other seizures included 97.5kg of skunk in Edo State, 91,840 tramadol pills hidden in a commercial bus in the FCT, and 71.2kg of skunk smuggled through Oyo State from the Benin Republic. In Kaduna, operatives recovered over 586,000 tramadol and exol-5 pills, while additional arrests and seizures were recorded in Taraba and Adamawa states.
Meanwhile, the agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools and communities nationwide.
Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers across commands for their efforts, urging them to maintain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control through enforcement and public education