Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted no fewer than three million five hundred thousand (3,500,000) pills of opioids and one hundred and sixty-three thousand (163,000) bottles of codeine syrup with combined street value of over three billion, four hundred and twenty-eight million naira (N3,428,000,000.00) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Lagos State.
A statement from NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, says 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, men of Customs Service and other security agencies at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State.
Babafemi mentioned that in Lagos State, 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.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos have 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.
At least, three suspects, including the receiver of the consignment, Monsurat Ewawunmi Lawson, have been arrested between Wednesday, April 30 and Saturday, May 3.
In like manner, a businessman Bobby Morris Osas was on Friday, May 2 arrested at the Lagos airport while attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Italy. A thorough search of his luggage led to the seizure of 8,130 pills of tramadol 225mg, 200mg and 100mg.
Attempt by another syndicate to ship 104grams 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 State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Kaduna-Zaria expressway on Saturday, May 3 intercepted a commercial vehicle coming from Nasarawa State heading to Zamfara State. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a total of 942 explosives concealed in a sack and the subsequent arrest of a 30-year-old suspect Nura Sani Muhammad (alias Nura Hariji).
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has directed that the suspect and exhibits be transferred to the appropriate security agency for further action.
