The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 2.55 million pharmaceutical opioid pills weighing 1,640.55 kilogrammes at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The agency said the seized drugs, valued at more than N3 billion, were recovered during a joint inspection of three monitored consignments at the airport’s import shed on Tuesday, September 22.
The consignments contained Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg. According to the NDLEA, the drugs were shipped from India and Bangladesh and arrived in Nigeria through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, described the seizure as one of the agency’s major opioid interceptions in 2026.
In another operation, NDLEA officers at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu arrested a 25-year-old businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, over an alleged attempt to smuggle cocaine out of Nigeria.
Chukwulobelu was arrested at the airport’s departure hall on Thursday, September 24, while preparing to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal through Addis Ababa.
The agency alleged that the suspect had swallowed 72 wraps of cocaine. He was subsequently placed under observation and later expelled all the wraps.
During questioning, the suspect reportedly said he previously operated a car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, Lagos, before relocating to Portugal in May 2023.
NDLEA said he returned to Nigeria recently and married on September 13, 2026. The agency alleged that he became involved in drug trafficking in an attempt to recover expenses associated with his wedding.
In Bauchi State, NDLEA operatives also arrested two men suspected of transporting cannabis.
The suspects, identified as 35-year-old Umar Hamidu and 45-year-old Abdulkarim Salihu, were intercepted along the Maiduguri bypass with 300 compressed blocks of cannabis, popularly known as skunk.
The consignment, weighing 262.5 kilogrammes, was allegedly hidden inside a concealed compartment of a truck with registration number MUB757 YH.
Meanwhile, in Edo State, NDLEA operatives, working alongside soldiers, destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi, on September 23.
The agency estimated that the farms had a combined potential yield of about 1,360.23 kilogrammes of cannabis.
In Lagos, two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested during an operation on Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, on Saturday, September 26.
NDLEA said 3.4 kilogrammes of skunk was recovered from the suspects.
On the same day, operatives intercepted a 58-year-old man, Ugwu Johnson, at Ebute-Ero Motor Park in Lagos.
According to the agency, Johnson was found with 5.920 kilogrammes of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 tramadol pills.
The NDLEA said the arrests and seizures formed part of its ongoing operations against the trafficking and distribution of illicit drugs and controlled pharmaceutical substances across the country.
