The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has carried out a string of intelligence-driven operations that led to the recovery of more than 7.6 million tramadol pills and 76,273 kilograms of cannabis across several states, with key arrests made in connection with the trafficking networks.
A statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said operatives stormed a warehouse at Oko Market in Asaba, Delta State on December 6 where they recovered 3,874,000 tramadol pills of 225mg and 100mg strengths, along with 252.2 litres of codeine syrup. He described the warehouse as a major distribution point linked to a wider supply chain that spreads across southern states.
Babafemi added that agents also intercepted 1.2 million tramadol tablets on December 3 along the Onitsha–Owerri Road in Imo State. The consignment, loaded in Aba and heading to Onitsha, was being transported by a suspect, Kelechi Nwakocha, 35, who was immediately arrested.
In Adamawa State, operatives on December 1 stopped a Toyota Hiace bus along the Maraba–Mubi route and discovered 1,577,112 capsules of tramadol and Exol-5 tablets concealed in jumbo bags mixed with sandals and slippers. Two suspects, Kabiru Buba, 25, and Hamza Abubakar, 32, were arrested. Another suspect, Mudansir Rabiu, 27, was picked up along the Zaria–Kano Road with 197,000 Exol-5 pills.
Further operations in Ekiti State led to the destruction of 14,654kg of skunk in forests around Omuo-Ekiti, with two suspects, Yusuf Iliyasu, 50, and Okumu Chinedu, 26, arrested. In another raid on December 2, operatives stormed the Asin-Ekiti axis of Ikole LGA, where they destroyed 54,300kg of skunk stored in two large warehouses and recovered another 28.3kg for prosecution purposes.
The agency also recorded a major success in Ondo State where, acting on actionable intelligence, officers raided Igoba Forest in Akure North LGA. A total of 2,483 compressed blocks and 247 bags of skunk, weighing 5,442kg, were recovered. Five suspects were taken into custody, identified as Jacob Omodowo, 66, Joy Oluatobi Peace, 24, Babatunde Olamide, 40, Echi Fidelis Joseph, 57, and Ankrah Akano, 56.
In Edo State, 447.5kg of skunk was recovered from two Honda Accord cars inside Agho Forest in Akoko Edo LGA, leading to the arrest of a suspect, Dada Adedara Babawibi, 56. Another 315.8kg of the substance was seized during a warehouse raid in Isiefve community of Ohuwunde LGA, and a suspect, Stanley Obasuwa, was arrested.
Babafemi noted that the operations were coordinated efforts targeted at dismantling drug trafficking organisations and cutting off supply channels feeding local markets. He said investigators are working through intelligence gathered from the arrests to track other members of the networks across the country.
He reaffirmed the agency’s drive to weaken the financial and operational capacity of drug syndicates, stressing that more raids would follow as NDLEA expands its surveillance and monitoring of high-risk locations.
