By Omoyeni Ojeifo, Abuja
In a well coordinated nationwide sting operations, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has smashed drug trafficking rings, intercepting massive consignments of illicit substances and arresting suspects in a four day operation across multiple states.
Persecondnews reports, the sweeping conducted between April 21 and April 24, 2026, also exposed a troubling resurgence of Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine linked to extremist networks such as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The drug is believed to enhance alertness, reduce fatigue and increase aggression in combat situations, a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
It was first intercepted in Africa at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos five years ago
On April 21, the NDLEA intercepted a passenger laden trailer along Bode Saadu in Kwara State and arrested a 33year old suspect, Nasiru Mu’azu, from whom 10,000 Captagon pills and nine packets of Tapentadol 250mg were recovered.
In a follow up operation at the same corridor three days later, officers uncovered a concealed compartment in another trailer, leading to the seizure of 155,900 capsules of tramadol, 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injection, 3,000 tablets of co-codamol and 9,000 tablets of bromazepam, while a 24-year-old suspect, Aminu Isah, was taken into custody.
In Oyo State, operatives arrested a 33year old passenger, Eze Prince Emeka, along the Ibadan-Oyo expressway while enroute to Sokoto.
A body scan confirmed ingestion of illicit drugs and under close observation, he excreted 45 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.043 kilograms.
Investigations suggests that traffickers are increasingly abandoning air travel in favour of road networks, moving consignments through northern corridors and across trans-Saharan routes toward North Africa and Europe, with stopovers for ingestion and excretion, it stated.
The operation recorded further major seizures across the country.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck along the Benin-Lagos Expressway carrying 1,196,000 pills of pharmaceutical opioids, leading to the arrest of two suspects.
In Lagos, a suspect was apprehended with 810 kilograms of a cannabis strain known as Arizona, while in Bauchi State, operatives recovered 154.5 kilograms of skunk from a suspect along the Azare-Katagum axis.
In Ekiti State, 466.8 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a residential property, while a massive 20,000 kilograms of cannabis was destroyed on farmland in Cross River State following a joint raid involving security personnel.
In a similar development, NDLEA operatives in Niger State intercepted a suspect transporting 394 components of improvised explosive devices, with the case subsequently handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaign nationwide, engaging schools, communities and institutions in efforts to curb drug demand and raise awareness.
Chairman of the NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers across the affected states for the coordinated operations, describing the interception of Captagon as a major disruption of a re-emerging trafficking route.
“We are not just seizing pills, we are disrupting the fuel that powers violence in our communities, ” he said.
He warned that the drug remains a significant threat due to its connection to violent groups and its capacity to fuel insecurity, stressing that the agency will continue to maintain pressure across all fronts.
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