National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced a significant breakthrough in its ongoing battle against illicit trafficking, intercepting a consignment of the lethal stimulant ‘Captagon’ in Kwara State and arresting a suspected drug trafficker in Oyo State who excreted 45 pellets of cocaine.
The development comes less than five years after the agency recorded its first-ever seizure of the substance in Africa at the Apapa seaport in Lagos. Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine notorious for its use by terror groups, is known to induce extreme euphoria, allowing users to remain awake for prolonged periods while fostering reckless and dangerous behavior.
NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Bode Saadu road in Kwara State intercepted a trailer carrying passengers on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. A search of a 33-year-old passenger, identified as Nasiru Mu’azu, led to the recovery of 10,000 pills of Captagon, along with nine packets of 250mg Tapentadol. With a street value of approximately $25 per pill, the agency views this intercept as a critical blow to the distribution of substances that pose severe security risks to the populace.
In a separate operation on the same day, NDLEA officers in Oyo State intercepted a commercial bus en route to Sokoto at Akinyele, along the Ibadan/Oyo expressway. A passenger, 33-year-old Eze Prince Emeka, was subjected to a body scan after raising suspicion, which revealed he had ingested illicit substances. Under close supervision, the suspect—who identified himself as a businessman—excreted 45 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.043 kilograms.
Investigations into his travel itinerary revealed a sophisticated trafficking plan involving the use of road travel to avoid airport screening and a planned journey through the trans-Saharan route via Algeria with the intent of reaching Europe.
The agency continues to maintain a heightened state of alert across all transit corridors, emphasizing that these seizures highlight the persistent threat posed by both synthetic stimulants and traditional narcotics moving through the region.
