….Cracks Fireproof Safe, Recovers Cocaine, Heroin In Rivers
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted consignments of captagon and millions of opioid pills worth over N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.
The Agency said in a statement on Sunday that the captagon, widely known as the ‘Jihadi drug’, was intercepted on Saturday, August 22, 2026, following the arrest of a 49-year-old cross-border kingpin, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins.
Aikins arrived from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight. A search of his carton of local bathing soap, popularly called “Ghana Soap,” led to the recovery of 47,200 pills of the illicit amphetamine concealed in blocks of soap. The drugs are valued at over N1.5 billion.
Captagon is notorious for its use in funding extremist activities in conflict zones. It was first intercepted in Nigeria by NDLEA in September 2021 at Apapa Port, Lagos. The suspect claimed he was to deliver the consignment in the North.
In another operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg weighing 2,787.40kg with a street value of over N4.6 billion. The drugs were found in four abandoned consignments at the import shed.
Three consignments of 900,000 Tramaking tablets weighing 815.40kg arrived on RwandAir flights from Bangladesh, while a fourth with 3,000,030 Tapentadol tablets weighing 1,972kg came on Qatar Airways from Amsterdam. The shipments were retrieved on Friday, August 28, after a joint examination with Customs and other agencies.
Also at Lagos, a 31-year-old US returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, was arrested on August 19 at Ikate, Lekki, while attempting to collect 3.350kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the UK.
Safe cracked in Rivers raid
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt and recovered a fireproof iron safe. When opened with a welding machine on Tuesday, August 25, it contained 237g of Colorado, 316g of cocaine and 10g of heroin.
In Ondo State, three suspects were arrested on Friday, August 28, on Ipele-Idoani road with 728kg of skunk. Two others were arrested on Wednesday, August 26, at Aponmu forest with 341kg of the same substance.
In Delta State, over 176,000 pills of assorted opioids including tramadol and molly were recovered in two operations between August 26 and 28.
The Agency said its commands nationwide also intensified War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitisation in schools, worship centres and communities during the week.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the MMIA, Ondo and Delta Commands and directed officers to sustain the balanced approach to drug control and remain vigilant against traffickers using household items to conceal drugs.
