NDLEA Thwarts Drug Trafficking Operations at Lagos International Airport
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully disrupted attempts by Drug Trafficking Organisations (DTOs) to smuggle large consignments of illicit substances through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. The agency intercepted methamphetamine and opioids cleverly concealed in various items, including carton walls, winter jackets, and body cream containers, intended for export to European countries.
Key Arrests and Seizures at the Airport
Two significant consignments bound for Italy were intercepted at the Lagos airport, leading to the prompt arrest of two suspects. Friday Ehianuka, a 37-year-old resident of Milan, was apprehended on Friday, March 20, 2026, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome. He had concealed 2,698 pills of tramadol 225mg within containers of skin-lightening body cream packed in his luggage. Ehianuka admitted that he was to receive a negotiated fee in euros upon successful delivery of the drugs to Italy.
In a separate incident on Wednesday, March 18, NDLEA operatives intercepted Christian Agbonhese, 38, also a Milan resident, at the departure hall as he attempted to board a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Milan. A thorough search of his luggage revealed 23,150 pills of tramadol 225mg, 4,000 tablets of tapentadol 250mg, and 1,320 pills of tramadol 100mg hidden inside two large winter jackets, totaling 28,470 opioid pills recovered.
Additional Interceptions and Nationwide Operations
At a courier firm in Lagos on Monday, March 16, NDLEA officers intercepted two parcels containing 1kg of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, shipped from the United States and hidden in a carton. They also thwarted an attempt to export 158 grammes of methamphetamine concealed in carton walls to New Zealand.
In Kano, operatives arrested Abdulkadir Mamuda, 35, with 102.5kg of skunk at Dan-Tsalle on March 18, while Uche Johnson Festus, 47, was nabbed the same day at Naibawa Gabas with 95.5kg of the same psychoactive substance.
In Lagos, a raid on a store at Otto, Ijora area on March 18 led to the recovery of 21,737 bottles of codeine-based syrup. Additionally, Chidiebere Anigbogu and Paul Nwagbara were arrested on Third Mainland Bridge while transporting 8,380 bottles of the same substance.
Other notable seizures include 97.5kg of skunk recovered from the home of Akeem Idde, 37, in Ojah, Akoko-Edo Local Council of Edo State on March 16, and 91,840 pills of tramadol intercepted in Abuja on March 18 along Gwagwalada Expressway, with bus driver Aminu Ali, 27, taken into custody.
In Oyo State, Bankole Bari was arrested on March 17 at Oke-Oyan, Ibarapa Local Council with 71.2kg of skunk smuggled from Benin Republic via the Oyan river. Kaduna operations saw 586,000 pills of tramadol and exol-5 recovered from Lawal Anas, 28, along Kaduna-Zaria highway on March 17, and 7,290 tablets of tramadol 225mg seized from Musa Shuaibu, 22, at the same location on March 20.
In Taraba State, Aliyu Adamu, 26, was intercepted on March 17 along Takum-Jalingo highway with 77,660 capsules of tramadol destined for Gombe. Adamawa State witnessed the arrest of six suspects—Ramatu Aliyu, Jungudo Abdullahi, Najid Abdullahi, Musa Mohammed, Usman Abdulrahim, and Musa Mohammed—linked to the seizure of 82.8kg of tramadol in a truck in Yola on March 17.
WADA Sensitisation and Leadership Commendation
Concurrently, NDLEA commands and formations across Nigeria continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities throughout the past week. Brig-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, commended the officers and men of the MMIA, DOGI, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Oyo, FCT, Taraba, and Adamawa commands for their diligent efforts in these arrests and seizures. He urged them to maintain the agency's balanced approach to drug control efforts nationwide.
