Framing the war on drugs as a marathon rather than a sprint, NDLEA Boss Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) has challenged his officers to dig deep and sustain their anti-narcotics momentum. Marwa warned that the persistent tactics of drug cartels demand nothing less than unwavering resilience, elevating the agency’s law enforcement mandate to a vital, generational mission According to an official statement released on Thursday, August 13 by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the Chairman issued the charge during the prestigious 12th Chief Executive Officer’s Commendations…
Category: NDLEA
NDLEA Busts Export Cartels: Italy-Based Businessman Excretes 98 Cocaine Wraps, Uncovers Saudi-Europe Charger-Hidden Shipments, Dismantles Interstate-Port Networks
Capitalising on its intensified war against narcotics, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 30-year-old Italy-based businessman with 98 wraps of ingested cocaine. Joseph Cyril was intercepted by vigilant operatives at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, just as he was about to board a flight to Italy via Addis Ababa and France. NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed the development in a statement issued Sunday, August 9. He noted that Cyril was intercepted at the departure hall on Sunday, August 2, 2026, during the outward clearance…
NDLEA Smashes Intercontinental Ring: Seizes Mortar-Concealed Cocaine, Clears Frontlines, and Arrests Wanted Kingpins
Relentless in its crackdown on drug barons, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have dismantled an international smuggling ring in Lagos. Acting on intelligence, the agency intercepted Europe and Asia-bound cocaine shipments bizarrely camouflaged inside a traditional mortar and the false bottom of a backpack before they could be processed by a local logistics company. According to a statement released on Sunday, August 2, by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy, the interceptions were executed on Thursday, July 30, 2026, by operatives of the Directorate of…
No Escape: Fugitive Kingpin & Footballer Bag 24 Years for Cocaine as Marwa Hails NDLEA Doggedness
In continuation of its relentless war against illicit narcotics across the country, the NDLEA has secured another major legal victory as Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos handed a combined 24-year prison sentence to fugitive drug kingpin Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu and former international footballer Hunkarin Segun George for smuggling 7.05 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.The landmark ruling brings a dramatic, decade-long international manhunt to a definitive close. In a statement released on Monday, July 27, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, confirmed that a…
NDLEA Seizes N10bn Drugs, 401 Military Ammo in Palm Oil; Intercepts ‘Black Soup’ Tramadol, Arrests Kingpins Nationwide
As the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intensifies its relentless crackdown on narcotics, operatives have arrested a 55-year-old Lagos businessman, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu. The suspect, a prominent clothing trader at the popular Balogun Market on Lagos Island, was nabbed while attempting to export 3.30 kilograms of cocaine to the United Kingdom. In a desperate bid to evade detection, the illicit cargo was meticulously concealed within the false walls of cartons used for packaging foodstuffs. According to an official statement released on Sunday, July 26, by the NDLEA Director of…
Thrones & Homes: Marwa Charges Leaders, Parents to Crush Drug Abuse
Driven by an unrelenting nationwide campaign to dismantle illicit drug networks, the Chairman and Chief uExecutive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has issued a clarion call to Nigeria’s traditional institutions, parents, and community leaders. Marwa urged these vital societal pillars to join forces with the agency, emphasizing that crushing the menace of substance abuse requires absolute grassroots ownership. According to a statement released on Saturday, July 25, 2026, by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the anti-narcotics boss…
World’s Top Drug Kingpin “El Mayo” to Serve Life, Forfeit $15B Sinaloa Empire
A prominent Mexican cartel leader who heavily influenced the modern illicit drug trade will face a life sentence on Monday, following a record-breaking multi-billion dollar forfeiture agreement with U.S. prosecutors Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel in the late 1980s alongside Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, has agreed to surrender $15 billion in illicit proceeds generated over 30 years of operations. Long considered an almost mythical figure who shunned the public spotlight, the 76-year-old was the ultimate cartel strategist.He controlled a vast web of corruption, paying off political…
From 80-Year-Old Grandpa to Togo Trailers: NDLEA Seizes 1.6M Pills in Multi-State Tramadol Smash
A transnational drug network smuggling tramadol across West African borders has suffered a crushing blow. In a high-stakes interception, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted a massive shipment of 1,630,000 pills of high-potency 250mg tramadol. The disclosure was made on Sunday, July 19, by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, who confirmed that the multi-border operation targeted two heavily modified trailers moving the contraband from Togo through the Benin Republic. The illicit cargo was hidden deep inside specially fabricated compartments welded into the…
NDLEA, NCC wield MoU to protect creative talents from trafficking, piracy
Transnational crime syndicates laundering narcotics proceeds through intellectual property theft face a severe crackdown under an aggressive new enforcement architecture. The alliance directly targets a toxic intersection of illicit trades, aiming to dismantle the criminal finance pipelines bleeding revenue away from Nigeria’s musicians, filmmakers, writers, and software developers. This enforcement strategy was disclosed in a statement released on Friday, July 17, by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi. In a major strategic shift, the agency and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) have weaponised their joint regulatory powers through…
Drug Kingpin Wanted: NDLEA Freezes ₦9.8B, Seizes Luxury Assets as Marwa Vows to Starve Cartels
Escalating its nationwide crackdown on illicit narcotics, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has declared drug kingpin Nnamuka Kelvin Uchenna (alias Odorwu) and three associates wanted. The suspects—Emmanuella Chinonso Iroka, Nnamuka Ifeanyi Kingsley, and Ekechi Franklin Chijioke (alias Ekene Okwunaga)—are blacklisted over their direct involvement in running clandestine methamphetamine laboratories and executing multi-billion-naira drug money laundering schemes. This disclosure was made in a statement on Friday, July 17, by Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy. He revealed that the suspects were declared wanted on the orders…