In a series of meticulously executed operations, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled multiple attempts by international drug syndicates to smuggle massive quantities of illicit opioids and narcotics out of Nigeria, exposing a web of concealment tactics ranging from high-fashion winter wear to everyday skincare products.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) and a Lagos-based courier company thwarted several consignments bound for Europe and beyond over the past week, leading to the arrest of multiple suspects with ties to Milan, Italy.
In the most striking interception, NDLEA officers arrested Christian Agbonhese, a 38-year-old resident of Milan, as he attempted to board a Lufthansa flight to Italy on Wednesday, March 18. A thorough search of his luggage revealed a staggering 28,470 pills of opioids meticulously hidden inside two large winter jackets. The haul included 23,150 pills of tramadol 225mg, 4,000 tablets of tapentadol 250mg, and 1,320 pills of tramadol 100mg.
Just two days later, on Friday, March 20, another Milan-based traveler, Friday Ehianuka, 37, was intercepted while checking in for an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome. Unlike the winter jacket concealment, Ehianuka opted for a cosmetic disguise. NDLEA officers discovered 2,698 pills of tramadol 225mg carefully concealed inside containers of skin-lightening body cream packed in his luggage.
In his statement to the agency, Ehianuka reportedly confessed that he was promised a fee in Euros upon successful delivery of the consignment to Italy.
“Two of the consignments heading to Italy were to be moved through the Lagos airport where two suspects linked to the shipments were promptly arrested,” said Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, in a statement released on Sunday.
Beyond the passenger terminals, the agency also cracked down on sophisticated export schemes at a courier firm in Lagos. On Monday, March 16, officers intercepted two parcels of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 1kg, hidden inside a carton shipped from the United States. In a separate operation at the same facility, authorities thwarted an attempt to export 158 grams of methamphetamine concealed within the walls of a carton destined for New Zealand.
The recent crackdown extends far beyond the aviation hub, with major seizures recorded across several states:
In Kano State, operatives arrested Abdulkadir Mamuda, 35, with 102.5kg of skunk, while Uche Johnson Festus, 47, was nabbed with 95.5kg of the same substance.
In Lagos, a raid at Otto, Ijora, led to the recovery of 21,737 bottles of codeine-based syrup. Two suspects were later arrested on the Third Mainland Bridge transporting an additional 8,380 bottles of the syrup.
In the FCT, a commercial bus was intercepted along the Gwagwalada Expressway, yielding 91,840 pills of tramadol hidden in the vehicle’s body compartments. The driver, Aminu Ali, 27, was taken into custody.
While in Kaduna, Lawal Anas, 28, was arrested along the Kaduna-Zaria Highway with a staggering 586,000 pills of tramadol and Exol-5.
Commending the operatives, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, praised the efforts of the MMIA, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, and other commands involved in the arrests. He urged the officers to sustain their balanced approach to drug control, combining aggressive interdiction with ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in schools, worship centers, and communities nationwide.
