NDLEA Intercepts 1.63 Million Tramadol Pills Hidden in Trucks, Arrests 80-Year-Old Suspect and Drug Syndicate Members
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in specially fabricated compartments of two trailers heading to Kano from Lagos, while intensifying its crackdown on a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo–Benin Republic–Nigeria corridor. The agency also arrested an 80-year-old suspected drug dealer, a businesswoman, a Chadian national, a couple, and several other suspects in coordinated operations across Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Kogi states.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded another major breakthrough in its sustained offensive against drug trafficking, intercepting 1,630,000 pills of tramadol concealed in two long-haul trailers travelling from Lagos to Kano.
The agency disclosed that the intelligence-led operation followed the interception of 558,900 tramadol pills recovered from another truck linked to the same trafficking syndicate barely a week earlier.
According to the NDLEA, the first trailer was intercepted on July 2, 2026, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway after operatives tracked the vehicle. A search revealed 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg hidden inside a fabricated compartment beneath the trailer's cargo floor. The 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru, was arrested.
A second trailer linked to the same network was intercepted on July 4 along the same expressway while also heading to Kano. Operatives recovered an additional 777,000 tramadol pills concealed in another specially constructed compartment beneath the truck. Its 22-year-old driver, Muhammed Nuhu, was also taken into custody.
Investigations, the agency said, revealed that the three intercepted trailers—including one seized on June 21—belonged to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling illicit drugs through the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria route.
In another operation, NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, intercepted two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing a combined 4.70 kilograms.
The shipments, which arrived from Canada aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on June 24 and July 3 respectively, were concealed inside cartons labelled "Odugwu."
Following investigations, operatives arrested cargo agents Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga before apprehending Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, who arrived to collect the consignments from a logistics company.
Further investigations led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the shipments, 44-year-old businesswoman Chioma Nneka Mokeme, on July 7 in Surulere, Lagos, in collaboration with officers of the Nigeria Police Force Area C Command. The suspect reportedly told investigators that a friend based in Canada introduced her to the illicit business.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested an 80-year-old suspect, Chika Ugwoji, at Ahoada on July 14 after allegedly recovering 800 grams of skunk from him.
Similarly, operatives in Edo State arrested a couple, Christian Chukwuka, 32, and Nwanneka Christian, 33, during a raid on their suspected drug warehouse along Sapele Road in Benin City. The operation led to the seizure of 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5 kilograms, alongside compressed blocks of Canadian Loud weighing 192.67 kilograms.
In another coordinated operation, a 38-year-old Chadian woman, Hajara Abdullahi, and her Nigerian accomplice, Abdulkarim Jidda, 44, were arrested in Lagos after investigators linked them to a consignment of 50,000 tramadol 225mg pills intercepted earlier in Kogi State on July 12.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency continued its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign, conducting sensitisation lectures for students and staff of several schools, including Government Day Junior Secondary School, Bakori in Katsina State; Colliery Technical School, Ngwo in Enugu State; Starlight College, Iganmu-Ijora in Lagos State; Community Secondary School, Kono in Rivers State; Odoro High School, Ikole-Ekiti; and Government Junior Secondary School, Gabasawa in Kano State.
Commending officers of the MMIA, Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Kogi Commands for the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their professionalism and dedication.
Marwa said the recent arrests and seizures had significantly strengthened ongoing national efforts to curb drug trafficking and abuse, urging officers across the country to remain vigilant and sustain the momentum in the fight against illicit drugs.
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