NDLEA Busts N6.2bn Drug Haul, Seizes ‘Jihadi Drug’, 3.9m Opioid Pills

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted drug consignments worth more than N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, including 47,200 pills of Captagon concealed inside blocks of bathing soap.

The agency also seized 3.9 million opioid tablets, recovered cocaine and heroin from a fireproof safe in a Port Harcourt drug den and arrested several suspected drug traffickers in operations across the country.

The Captagon consignment was intercepted on Saturday, August 22, 2026, following the arrest of a 49-year-old suspected cross-border drug kingpin, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins.

Aikins had arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.

According to the NDLEA, operatives became suspicious of a carton of local bathing soap popularly known as “Ghana Soap” being brought into the country by the suspect.

A search of the carton resulted in the discovery of 47,200 Captagon pills, with an estimated street value of more than N1.5 billion.

The tablets had been concealed inside blocks of soap in an attempt to evade detection.

The suspect reportedly told investigators that he was expected to deliver the consignment to an unidentified recipient in northern Nigeria.

Captagon, an illicit amphetamine-based drug, has been described as the “Jihadi drug” because of its reported use and association with extremist networks in conflict zones.

The NDLEA said the substance was first intercepted in Nigeria in September 2021 at the Apapa Port in Lagos.

3.9m opioid tablets abandoned at airport

In another major operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg from four abandoned consignments.

The drugs had a combined gross weight of 2,787.40kg and an estimated street value of more than N4.6 billion.

Three of the consignments, containing a combined 900,000 Tramaking tablets weighing 815.40kg, arrived on RwandAir flights from Bangladesh.

The fourth consignment contained 3,000,030 Tapentadol tablets weighing 1,972kg and arrived aboard Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.

The NDLEA said the consignments were placed under surveillance after nobody came forward to claim them.

The drugs were subsequently retrieved on Friday, August 28, after a joint examination by NDLEA operatives, Customs officials and other stakeholders.

US returnee arrested with 3.35kg cannabis

The agency also arrested a 31-year-old US returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, at Ikate, Lekki, Lagos.

Oludotun was arrested on August 19 when he allegedly arrived to collect 3.350kg of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.

NDLEA cracks open safe in Port Harcourt

In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided a suspected drug den in the notorious Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt.

Among the items recovered was a fireproof iron safe.

The operatives used a welding machine to open the safe on Tuesday, August 25, discovering 237 grams of Colorado, 316 grams of cocaine and 10 grams of heroin inside.

Ondo operatives seize 1,069kg of cannabis

Three suspects — Oyedele Daniel, 42; Taye Saliu, 36; and Kehinde Saliu, 36 — were arrested along the Ipele-Idoani Road in Ondo State on Friday, August 28.

The suspects were allegedly transporting 728kg of skunk in a truck marked KRE 120 XB.

In a separate operation at Aponmu Forest on Wednesday, August 26, operatives arrested Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, with another 341kg of skunk.

The two operations produced a combined seizure of 1,069kg of cannabis.

176,000 opioid pills recovered in Delta

In Delta State, the NDLEA said more than 176,000 assorted opioid pills, including tramadol and Molly, were recovered in two separate interdiction operations conducted between August 26 and 28.

Meanwhile, the agency continued its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign, targeting schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.

The campaign included enlightenment lectures for students and staff of Markaz Littahfizul Quran Wal Islamiyyat in Dadin Kowa, Gombe State, and Zangina Islamiyyah Alasawa Kurna in Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano State.

NDLEA personnel also engaged youths participating in an adolescent lifestyle programme organised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in Benin City, Edo State.

The Ondo State Command paid a WADA advocacy visit to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, while the Taraba Command also held a similar engagement with Governor Agbu Kefas.

Commending the personnel involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged officers across the country to sustain the agency’s efforts against illicit drugs.

Marwa particularly warned against increasingly sophisticated methods being adopted by traffickers, including the concealment of illicit substances in ordinary household items.

He directed NDLEA personnel to maintain the momentum in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse while sustaining the agency’s balanced enforcement and prevention strategy.