The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a fresh consignment of the synthetic drug Captagon in Kwara State, thwarting an attempt by traffickers to reintroduce the substance into Nigeria. The seizure occurred during a patrol along Bode Saadu Road, where operatives stopped a passenger vehicle and recovered 10,000 pills of the amphetamine-based drug from suspect Nasiru Mu'azu, 33. Additional quantities of Tapentadol were also found in his possession.
Captagon, often described as a “terror drug,” is widely abused in parts of the Middle East and has been linked to extremist groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), where it is used as a stimulant for fighters and a source of funding.
In a separate operation in Kwara, NDLEA officers uncovered a large cache of controlled substances hidden in a trailer, including tramadol capsules and injections, as well as other opioids. A suspect, Aminu Isah, 24, was arrested in connection with the haul.
Meanwhile, in Oyo State, a suspected drug courier, Eze Prince Emeka, was arrested along the Ibadan-Oyo expressway after a body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs. Under observation, he excreted 45 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.043 kilograms. Investigations revealed that the suspect intended to transport the drugs through trans-Saharan routes via Algeria to Europe, in a bid to evade airport detection.
Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives intensified their crackdown across multiple states. In Edo, officers intercepted a truck carrying over 1.1 million opioid pills along the Benin-Lagos expressway, arresting two suspects linked to the consignment. In Lagos, a suspect was apprehended with 810 kilograms of a cannabis strain known as “Arizona,” while in Bauchi, another individual was caught with 154.5 kilograms of skunk. In Ekiti State, authorities recovered 466.8 kilograms of cannabis from a residence, while in Cross River, operatives destroyed 20,000 kilograms of the substance spread across eight hectares of farmland, alongside additional processed cannabis.
NDLEA also reported the seizure of 394 improvised explosive device (IED) components from a suspect in Niger State. The materials are to be handed over to relevant security agencies for further investigation.
Chairman of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations, describing the Captagon seizure as a significant disruption of emerging drug networks. He warned that traffickers are attempting to re-establish supply routes for the substance, five years after a major interception at Apapa seaport in Lagos. “Captagon remains a dangerous enabler of violence. What we have done is not just a drug seizure, but a disruption of a system that fuels insecurity,” Marwa said, assuring that the agency will sustain its aggressive enforcement and public sensitisation campaigns nationwide.
