Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a substantial haul of opioids at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, and the Apapa seaport in Lagos, according to NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi.
The seized contraband includes no fewer than 6,000,000 opioid pills – specifically tamol 225mg, tapentadol 225mg and carisoprodol 225mg – as well as 332,000 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup, with a combined street value of N6.524 billion.
Babafemi said in a statement sent to Persecondnews on Sunday that the seizures followed intelligence gathering and tracking of new trafficking routes used by drug cartels to smuggle illicit substances into Nigeria, prompting the authorities to place the containers under surveillance for thorough examination.
The consignments at the Port Harcourt ports, comprising 6,000,000 opioid pills and 162,000 bottles of codeine syrup, were discovered in two containers on May 19 and 20, 2025, during a joint inspection conducted by NDLEA officers, Nigeria Customs officials, and other security agencies.
Babafemi disclosed at the Apapa port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives discovered 170,000 bottles of codeine syrup in a monitored container during a joint examination exercise on May 22.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives apprehended two British nationals, Mhizha Jordan Alexander Tatendra and Ayedipe Andrew Adejuwon, along with two Nigerians, Shonowo Oluwaseun Imole and Ofuoma Omokaro Ayobami, for attempting to smuggle 92 bags of Loud, a potent cannabis strain weighing 51.10kg, into Nigeria through Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
Alexander was intercepted with the shipment upon arrival at MMIA on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha, based on processed intelligence, on May 15.
“He was permitted to pass through security control unchallenged and was discreetly followed by NDLEA operatives to the car park.
“There, the cargo’s owner, Ayedipe Andrew Adejuwon, a Nigerian-British national, awaited in an SUV alongside his associate, Shonowo Oluwaseun Imole, and the vehicle’s driver, Ofuoma Omokaro Ayobami, to receive the courier
“However, the tracking NDLEA operatives pounced on them as they attempted to exit the airport car park, arresting them with the illicit substances in the vehicle,” Babafemi also said.
In his statement, Alexander admitted to being recruited during his vacation weeks prior, and was promised £1,300 for successfully delivering the consignment in Lagos.
NDLEA said the syndicate’s ringleader, Adejuwon, confessed that he had arrived in Nigeria a day earlier, having travelled from South Africa via Ghana.
A subsequent raid on their Lekki apartment yielded further discoveries. At the time of his arrest, N93,000 and 17,200 South African Rand were seized from him.
A search of the apartment uncovered N3.8 million in cash, an Apple laptop, an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and four canisters of laughing gas (nitrous oxide).
The statement reads: “On 22 May, NDLEA operatives destroyed 75,000 kilogrammes of skunk on 30 hectares of cannabis farms in Esuk-Odot village, Odukpani LGA, Cross River State, where 200kg had been seized earlier. Furthermore, 1,957.5kg of the psychoactive plant was destroyed on May 23 and 24, in the Ohosu forest, Ovia South-West LGA, and the Okhuse community forest, Owan West LGA, Edo State.
“In Nasarawa State, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Sunday Daniel, 51, and Abu Peter, 30, in Keffi on May 24, seizing 4,000 kilogrammes of skunk hidden beneath untreated wood in their lorry. Another suspect, Godwin Obi, 39, was apprehended in Karu with 154.5kg of the same substance on May 21.
“In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives intercepted Muhammad Hamza, 22, with 57,750 pills of tramadol and diazepam along the Kaduna-Zaria expressway on May 21. On the same day, their counterparts in Bauchi arrested Usman Muhammad, 45, with 80 blocks of skunk weighing 45kg along the Bauchi-Misau road.
“Similarly, in Yobe State, operatives intercepted 55 parcels of Colorado, weighing 2kg, which Adum Muhammed, 29, was attempting to smuggle into Chad through Ngamboru Ngala border town in Borno State.
“In Niger State, NDLEA operatives stopped a Mercedes Benz car marked FST 938 FU along Mokwa-Jebba road on May 22, seizing 235 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 97kg and arresting the driver, Adams Ayibakro.
“In Lagos, operatives raided Osapa London, Lekki, arresting Jonathan Isa with various quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, molly, rohypnol, codeine, cannabis, and nitrous oxide. A separate raid at Idasun, Eleko, Ibeju-Lekki, on May 24, resulted in the arrest of Olamilekan Idowu and the seizure of 48kg of skunk.”
The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands also continued nationwide over the past week.
Some of these activities include WADA sensitisation lectures delivered to students and staff at Adamu Babbale Government Secondary School in Dimirkol, Katsina; Mary Hanney Secondary School in Oron, Akwa Ibom; Nnodo Secondary School in Abakaliki, Ebonyi; Government Secondary School in Guyuk, Adamawa; and Government Girls Islamic Secondary School in Gwagwarwa, Kano.
Additionally, the Lagos State command of the NDLEA conducted a WADA advocacy visit to the Sarkin Fulani of Lagos, Alhaji Muhammadu Bambado, among others.
The NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Retired Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa commended officers in the agency’s PHPC, MMIA, Apapa, Nasarawa, Cross River, Edo, Lagos, Niger, Kaduna, Yobe, and Bauchi commands for their recent arrests and seizures.
He also praised officers across all commands for striking a balance between drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
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