Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have smashed multiple drug trafficking syndicates, arresting at least nine suspected kingpins and intercepting consignments of methamphetamine, cocaine and other illicit substances concealed in machine cylinders and automobile parts in Lagos and other parts of the country.
The latest breakthroughs followed a series of intelligence led operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, and coordinated follow up raids in Anambra, Kogi, Cross River, Edo, Enugu, Kebbi, Niger, Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to a statement by the NDLEA, officers at the import shed of the Lagos airport intercepted pressure machine cylinders that arrived from South Africa on a Tag Angola flight on November 13, 2025, with airway bill number 118-12882973. The containers, which were seized based on credible intelligence, were later traced to Onitsha in Anambra State.
During a sting operation at a logistics company in Onitsha on Tuesday November 18, operatives arrested 30 year old electrical appliances dealer, Ebulue Lotanwa Uzochukwu, when he showed up to collect the consignment. Shortly after, another member of the syndicate, a 51 year old South Africa returnee, Christopher Michael Ndibuisi, also arrived at the location and was arrested.
The cylinders were found to contain 5.40 kilograms of methamphetamine, 10.70 kilograms of Loud, which is a strong strain of cannabis, 16 grams of cocaine, 200 grams of phenacetin, 200 grams of methcathinone and 100 grams of caffeine.
In another operation at the Lagos airport on Thursday November 20, NDLEA officers intercepted a brake servo automobile spare part that had been used to conceal 48 pellets and a block of cocaine weighing 2.30 kilograms. The consignment, packed among other auto spare parts and billed for Gabon, was presented for export by a freight agent identified as Ameh Solomon. His arrest led to a follow up operation at the auto parts section of the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, where an auto parts dealer, Nwafor Tochukwu Boniface, was picked up.
The agency said the Lagos seizures formed part of a wider nationwide offensive designed to disrupt drug cartels ahead of the festive season.
In Kogi State, NDLEA operatives on Monday November 17 intercepted a trailer at Kabba, conveying 4,700 kilograms of skunk. Three men, identified as Solomon Dauda, Friday Garba and Daniel Danladi, who accompanied the consignment, were taken into custody. A follow up operation in Jos, Plateau State, on Friday November 21 led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the trailer and the drugs, one Marcus Danladi Dan Mangu.
Similarly, a couple, 55 year old Onun Okoi Okpotum and his 52 year old wife, Itam Okoi Okpotum, were arrested on Wednesday November 19 at their warehouse on Park Road, Ugep in Yakur Local Government Area of Cross River State, where officers recovered 362 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 4,706 kilograms.
In Edo State, two young women, 19 year old Praise Nwogu and 25 year old Ebong Emem Oghosa, who allegedly specialise in producing and selling drug laced brownies online, were arrested in Benin City on Saturday November 22. At the time of their arrest, Nwogu was found with 12 plates and a cup of drug laced brownies, while Oghosa was found with 76 grams of skunk, 1.5 grams of Colorado and more brownies suspected to be laced with illicit drugs. A separate raid at Ososo village in Akoko Edo Local Government Area on Tuesday November 18 led to the arrest of 35 year old Shedrack Aminu with 59 kilograms of skunk.
Along Enugu Onitsha road, Enugu State, operatives on patrol on Wednesday November 19 intercepted 24 year old Chinoso Emmanuel Monday, who was allegedly transporting 10.1 kilograms of skunk, 105,600 pills of tramadol of different strengths, 700 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 3,000 rounds of live ammunition.
In Kebbi State, 13,155 bottles of codeine based syrup were evacuated from a warehouse at Dole Kaina in Dandi Local Government Area, while a 23 year old suspect, Umar Adamu, was arrested with 12,548 opioid pills concealed in paracetamol containers on his way to a Boko Haram enclave in the Minok area of Borno State on Friday November 21.
Two men, 40 year old Anthony Mercy and 39 year old Sunday Augustine, were arrested on Monday November 17 along the Abaji Abuja expressway in the Federal Capital Territory with 430.5 kilograms of cannabis. In a related operation, 47 year old Samson Dafe was arrested at Dikko junction on Kaduna road in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State on Tuesday November 18 with 85,100 opioid pills and 5,456 bottles of codeine syrup in a Sharon vehicle marked ABJ 114 BV.
A raid on the premises of a suspect, Sani Mohammed, at Anguwan Makera Kuta in Shiroro Local Government Area yielded 437 blocks of compressed skunk weighing 471.8 kilograms.
In Lagos, NDLEA officers arrested a suspect, Usman Ayoola Adegoke, in connection with the seizure of 139 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 71 kilograms at an apartment in Lekki. Another suspect, a lady identified as Oluchi Celestine, was picked up on Tuesday November 18 in the same area with 2.6 kilograms of Colorado packaged in branded containers and some concealed in flight boarding cards.
Acting on intelligence, NDLEA operatives, supported by military personnel, also stormed the notorious Peti illicit drug enclave on Lagos Island on Monday November 17, where they recovered 385 kilograms of skunk, Loud and Colorado and arrested two suspects. In a separate operation, the agency recovered 163,200 capsules of tramadol 225 milligrams at a motor park in the Maza Maza area of Lagos.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, retired, commended the officers and men of the MMIA Command as well as operatives in Kogi, Edo, Cross River, Enugu, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Lagos and the FCT for what he described as a strong, coordinated push against drug trafficking networks.
Marwa said the current heavy crackdown was deliberate, given the tendency of criminal cartels to exploit holiday periods for increased trafficking. He said, “The coming festive season is usually a period often exploited by criminal elements, hence the Agency has decided to launch a relentless offensive on drug trafficking cartels across the nation. The coming weeks present both an opportunity and a challenge. Drug cartels may attempt to increase their illegal activities, seeking to profit during the busy holiday period. We must not, and we will not, let down our guard.”
He urged officers across all commands and formations to sustain both the interdiction efforts and the ongoing War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities, stressing that cutting off supply and reducing demand must go hand in hand in order to protect young Nigerians and keep communities safe.
