NDLEA Intercepts N10bn Worth Of Cocaine, Illicit Drugs At Lagos Ports

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has recorded one of its biggest anti-narcotics operations in recent months, intercepting illicit drugs with an estimated street value of over N10 billion, arresting suspected drug kingpins and seizing military-grade ammunition concealed for illegal transportation across different parts of the country.

The operations, which spanned Lagos, Katsina, Kaduna and Edo states, also led to the interception of cocaine destined for the United Kingdom, Canadian Loud smuggled through the seaports, a massive consignment of opioids imported from India, as well as the recovery of 401 rounds of military-grade ammunition hidden in kegs of palm oil.

Among those arrested is 55-year-old businessman, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, a clothing trader at Lagos Island’s popular Balogun Market, who was allegedly identified as the mastermind behind an attempt to export 3.30 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside the walls of cartons used for packaging food items bound for the United Kingdom.

According to the NDLEA, operatives intercepted the cocaine shipment at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on Wednesday, July 22, before tracking and arresting Onuigbo a day later while he was allegedly preparing to dispatch another cocaine consignment to the UK.

NDLEA’s spokesperson Femi Babafemi said investigations initially led to the arrest of three cargo agents—Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim—who processed the shipment.

According to the NDLEA, their interrogation subsequently led operatives to Kenneth Okakpu, who reportedly delivered the consignment, before investigators eventually identified and arrested Onuigbo as the alleged kingpin coordinating the trafficking network.

In another operation, NDLEA officers arrested 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo at her Surulere residence in Lagos on Tuesday, July 21, after intercepting a 2.80-kilogram consignment of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, which had arrived from the United States aboard a United Airlines flight a day earlier.

The agency also recorded one of its largest pharmaceutical seizures when operatives recovered 2.24 million pills of Tapentadol 250mg, valued at over N2.2 billion, from a cargo shipment that arrived from India aboard an Air Maroc flight.

The seizure followed intelligence gathered and processed by the agency, culminating in a joint examination of the shipment at the Lagos airport on Friday, July 24.

The opioid interception came shortly after NDLEA officers uncovered another attempt to smuggle tramadol to the United Kingdom.

The NDLEA said the prohibited drugs had been carefully concealed inside containers of black soap and were intercepted at a Lagos courier company on Wednesday, July 22.

At the Apapa Seaport, anti-narcotics operatives also uncovered a container carrying three vehicles used to conceal 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud weighing 2,388.5 kilograms, with an estimated street value exceeding N7.1 billion.

The illicit consignment was discovered during a joint examination conducted on Monday, July 20.

Beyond narcotics enforcement, the agency also intercepted military-grade ammunition during separate operations in Katsina and Kaduna states.

In Katsina, NDLEA operatives on patrol arrested 30-year-old Mustapha Sani at Baure in Safana Local Government Area after discovering 323 rounds of military ammunition, comprising 200 rounds of 7.62mm and 123 rounds of 7.6mm ammunition, concealed in his possession.

Similarly, on the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway near Jere, officers conducting stop-and-search operations arrested Abubakar Amadu, also aged 30, with 73 rounds of 7.62mm RLA ammunition hidden inside kegs filled with red palm oil.

The agency disclosed that both suspects and the recovered ammunition have been handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation and possible prosecution.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Ilushi community, Esan South-East Local Government Area, where they recovered 1,286 kilograms of cannabis alongside 86 kilograms of cannabis seeds.

During the operation, officers arrested Ojore Onweze, 45, with 60 kilograms of skunk, while George Agwumede, 30, was apprehended with an additional 13 kilograms of the illicit substance.