The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted no fewer than 3,500,000 pills of opioids and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrup with a combined street value of over N3,428,000,000.00 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Lagos State.
The bulk of the seizures, two million pills of tafrodol 225mg and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrup, were made on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, during a joint examination of a watch-listed container by NDLEA officers, Customs Service men, and other security agencies at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State.
In Lagos, a total of 1,500,000 pills of a controlled opioid were recovered from a suspect, Olarenwaju Wahab at the Alaba-Rago area of Ojo on Tuesday, April 29, while the source of the consignment was traced to Q104B Road 25, Victoria Garden City, Lekki, which is the residence of one Obinna Kenneth who is now at large.
NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi also revealed that the anti narcotics operatives at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos intercepted 42 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 20kg, concealed in tins of chocolate, Milo beverage, white kidney beans and dark red kidney beans packaged as part of cargos that came into the Lagos airport onboard a British Airways flight from Canada.
He said at least three suspects, including the consignment receiver, Monsurat Ewawunmi Lawson, were arrested between Wednesday, April 30, and Saturday, May 3rd.
In a related development, a businessman, Bobby Morris Osas, was on Friday, May 2nd, arrested at the Lagos airport while attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Italy.
The NDLEA said a thorough search of his luggage led to the seizure of 8,130 pills of tramadol 225mg, 200mg and 100mg.
Meanwhile, another syndicate’s attempt to ship 104 grams of tramadol and skunk concealed in bottles of body cream to Iraq through a courier company in Lagos was also thwarted on Monday, April 28, by NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI).
In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Kaduna-Zaria Expressway on Saturday, May 3rd, intercepted a commercial vehicle coming from Nasarawa State heading to Zamfara State. A search of the vehicle revealed 942 explosives concealed in a sack, and the subsequent arrest of 30-year-old suspect Nura Sani Muhammad (alias Nura Hariji).
