The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced Sunday that its operatives have dismantled two major cross-border drug trafficking syndicates, seizing cocaine and opioids worth billions of naira and arresting six cartel leaders across various regions in Nigeria.
This crackdown included a significant operation at Apapa Seaport, Lagos, on Wednesday, November 6, where NDLEA agents intercepted 31.75 million tablets of 240mg Voltron, a controlled opioid, concealed in a container from India labeled as diclofenac sodium tablets.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi stated that these syndicates were tracked through months of intelligence gathering and surveillance. He disclosed that the syndicate, which includes members based in Mubi (Adamawa State), Onitsha (Anambra State), and Lagos as well as Cameroonian collaborators, is suspected of supplying drugs to terror groups in Nigeria and Cameroon.
Among those arrested are Ibrahim Bawuro, Najib Ibrahim, Ibrahim Umar, Nelson Udechukwu Anayo, Ezeh Amaechi Martin, and Adejumo Elijah Ishola. Babafemi explained that the network operated by sourcing drugs such as tramadol from suppliers in Onitsha, concealing them in vehicles, and transporting them to the North and Cameroon using modified compartments in vehicles.
On October 7, Bawuro and Najib were arrested following a pursuit from Onitsha to Taraba, where 276,500 pills of tramadol were seized from their abandoned vehicle. Follow-up operations in Delta and Anambra led to the arrests of Amaechi Martin and Udechukwu Anayo, with support from NDLEA’s Directorate of Intelligence.
In a separate case, Adejumo Elijah Ishola, 37, was apprehended at Seme Border, Lagos, with 3.3 kg of cocaine and 600 grams of synthetic cannabis. Intelligence revealed he had been trafficking drugs from Ghana into Nigeria.
Further operations on November 6 at Apapa Seaport led to the seizure of 31.75 million pills of Voltron, discovered during a joint inspection with Customs. Meanwhile, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, officers intercepted a package containing 700 grams of Loud, a potent cannabis strain. A software engineer, Olu Marshal, was arrested upon attempting to collect the package, with drug paraphernalia later found at his Lekki residence.
Additionally, NDLEA agents thwarted an attempt by suspect Orji Ogbonna Nnaorji to smuggle 32.5 kg of codeine syrup and 5.7 kg of cannabis to London, concealed in a shipment of tiger nuts. A raid of his warehouse in Ajao Estate, Lagos, followed his arrest.
In Kwara State, 162,800 pills of opioids were seized from four suspects, with 112,200 tramadol tablets recovered from Wahab Alao Saliu, 18,900 from Dalha Musa, and further supplies from other local suspects.
In the Federal Capital Territory, agents intercepted a truck carrying 755.5 kg of cannabis on the Abaji-Kwali Road, hidden under empty noodle cartons. The driver, Lukman Rasheed, admitted to loading the substance in Ondo State.
In Taraba, NDLEA operatives confiscated 156.95 kg of cannabis from a suspect transporting drugs to Kano, and in Plateau State, agents seized 141 kg of cannabis and arrested two suspects. A Chadian national, Hassan Muhammad Ali, was apprehended in Kano with 3,000 tramadol pills.
Additional raids across Kaduna, Edo, and Ondo States uncovered massive cannabis hauls and led to multiple arrests.
NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative also saw sensitization lectures at schools, workplaces, and traditional rulers’ palaces, including visits to the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II. The agency’s Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), commended the officers across various commands for their tireless efforts in combating drug abuse and trafficking throughout the country.
