In a fierce escalation of its nationwide war on narcotics, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have recently smashed a series of sophisticated smuggling rings across Nigeria.
The sweeping operations intercepted a Saudi Arabia-bound contraband cache hidden inside a gallon of palm oil at the Kano Airport, and uncovered a staggering 8,725 kilograms of powdered tramadol—valued at a street-busting ₦6.98 billion—at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
The massive breakthrough was confirmed in an official statement released on Sunday, October 18, 2026, by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi. The Agency’s coordinated multi-state dragnet also yielded thousands of kilograms of cannabis and volatile opioids across Lagos, Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Kano, and Kaduna states, culminating in the arrest of dozens of high-value syndicates, including an 85-year-old grandmother.
The operational timeline began at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) on Friday, October 16, 2026. Vigilant NDLEA officers intercepted a female passenger, Fatimah Ahmad, during the outward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight bound for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, via Addis Ababa. A meticulous search of her luggage exposed 511.75 grams of skunk tightly wrapped and submerged inside a gallon of palm oil.
Upon her arrest, Ahmad immediately implicated her supplier. She told operatives that the contaminated gallon was handed to her by her cousin, Abubakar Yahaya. Acting swiftly on the intelligence, tactical officers swooped on the airport car park and promptly arrested Yahaya before he could flee the perimeter.
Meanwhile, a massive maritime breakthrough unfolded at the APM Terminals in Apapa Port, Lagos. Following a rigorous joint examination alongside the Nigeria Customs Service and other sister security agencies on October 2, operatives uncovered a suspicious industrial shipment originating from India, falsely declared as maize starch.
Samples subjected to a confirmatory test at the NDLEA forensic laboratory positively identified the raw cargo as lethal tramadol hydrochloride powder. By the time the illicit substance was fully separated from its concealment on Wednesday, October 14, it tallied up to 349 industrial bags weighing a gross 8,725 kilograms, dealing a ₦6.98 billion blow to the transnational cartel.
The port offensives intensified at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos, where a joint security examination of a 40-foot container intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle. Concealed inside brown cartons within the vehicle was a 55-kilogram shipment of premium Canadian Loud, valued at a street-busting ₦165 million.
Simultaneously, tactical sweeps across the Lagos mainland crippled local distribution hubs. In a raid at the bustling Idumota market, operatives arrested Elizabeth Chidera Kalu after uncovering 10,600 ampoules of diazepam injection and 6,500 tablets of Molly hidden inside her store.
The enforcement wave crashed through Mushin, where two 35-year-old distributors—Idowu Daudu and Ahmed Oniyinde—were intercepted with 59.95 kilograms and 61.23 kilograms of skunk, respectively.
Along the Iyana Oba highway, acting on sharp intelligence, mobile operatives intercepted a delivery truck departing the Trade Fair market. A deep search of the vehicle exposed 18,000 high-potency pills of Tramadol (250mg) masquerading inside commercial boxes labeled as Rambo insecticide.
The operation led to the immediate arrest of the loading manager, Tajudeen Adeduntan, and his assistant, Azeez Sikiru.
In Edo State, a coordinated sweep across the Warake, Ivhiaro, and Ewe/Irue communities in Owan East Local Government Area dismantled a localized supply ring. Among the six suspects paraded was an 85-year-old grandmother, Grace Ehimeka, who was caught red-handed with 179 kilograms of skunk at Warake.
The Edo sweeps also netted Ayo Aigberadion, 53, alongside a massive 220.8-kilogram cache of cannabis at Ewe/Irue, while Ali Garba, 57, Habib Braimoh, 45, Musa Mubid, 35, and Hope Okoro, 35, were systematically rounded up with diverse assortments of cannabis seeds, Loud, Tramadol, Swinol, and diazepam.
The anti-narcotic web stretched far into the North. In Bauchi State, highway interdiction teams intercepted a Volkswagen Golf wagon at Ragwam village, Katagum Local Government Area. A search of the vehicle driven by 35-year-old Shamsu Garba yielded a haul of 894,800 illicit pills, including Tramadol capsules and Exol-5 tablets. On the same day, a separate patrol team along the Bauchi-Gombe road forced smugglers to abandon a vehicle at Tudun Natsira village, leaving behind 291 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 265 kilograms.
Meanwhile, deep inside the Okemoro Isinbode camp forest in Ondo State, NDLEA tactical forces struck a major cultivation stronghold. Operatives overran a massive three-hectare cannabis plantation, setting fire to 7,500 kilograms of standing skunk crops. Five farm operators—Asikpo Ekpeyoung, 43; Solomon Okpani, 22; Ubong Friday, 35; Joseph Friday, 22; and Ekenimi Seth, 35—were arrested on-site. Law enforcement recovered a combined 1,281 kilograms of processed narcotics, including 92 bags of skunk, fresh stems, and cannabis seeds. In a follow-up operation in Owo, agents tracked 53-year-old Okunebe Ndidi to his Ameyinti hideout, seizing 25 bags of cannabis weighing 375 kilograms.
In Kano, strategic transit routes were effectively choked off. Operatives along the Zaria-Kano highway intercepted Ali Abdullahi, 38, and Ibrahim Adamu, 23, with 30,100 high-dose Tramadol (225mg) tablets. A separate sting at Niger Street in Malan Kato led to the arrest of 54-year-old Murtala Dayyabu, who was found in possession of 100,000 tablets of Exol-5.
The multi-state sweep culminated in Kaduna and the Federal Capital Territory. A rural raid at Kayimi village in Kaduna State resulted in the arrest of Mohammed Sani, 48, Zaharadeen Shafiu, 29, and Yakubu Abdullahi, 20, alongside 496.5 kilograms of cannabis.
Similarly, a city raid at Food Palace on Ali Akilu Road in Kaduna caught 39-year-old John Ayo David with 49,500 tablets of Tramadol (225mg). Closing the massive nationwide dragnet, FCT operatives squeezed the final link of the cartel chain in Abuja, arresting 42-year-old Odo Jonas Ejike in the Utako district with 29,500 capsules of Tramadol.
Paralleling the tactical onslaught on cartel supply networks, the Agency’s commands and formations deployed across the country to intensify their grassroots preventive measures. Over the past week, officials aggressively pushed the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization matrix across schools, worship centers, corporate workspaces, and vulnerable communities.
The nationwide enlightenment sweeps specifically targeted high-risk learning environments, with intense WADA educational lectures delivered to students and academic staff at:
- Nawar-Ur-Deen High School, Ogboro, Oyo State.
- Elf Junior Secondary School, Bojude, Gombe State.
- Cherubim and Seraphim Primary School, Ikorodu, Lagos State
- Harmony Secondary School, Lokoja, Kogi State
- Government Secondary School, Ikot Ansa, Calabar, Cross River State.
- Rivers State College of Health Science and Management Technology, Port Harcourt
- Mesh International School, Benin City, Edo State
- Abu Hanifa Academy, Kano Municipal, Kano State.
Reacting to the sweeping successes, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, retired Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, heavily commended the officers and operatives of the Apapa, Tincan, MAKIA, Lagos, Edo, Bauchi, Ondo, Kano, and FCT Commands.
Marwa specifically lauded their high-level professionalism and intelligence-driven execution that enabled the multi-billion Naira seizures.
Reaffirming the agency’s unyielding momentum, the NDLEA Chief charged the anti-narcotic forces across all borders to aggressively sustain the offensive against trafficking syndicates, while maintaining a deeply structured, balanced approach to the nation’s holistic drug control ecosystem.
