By Samuel Adeola
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has made a series of major drug seizures across Nigeria, as traffickers adopt increasingly unusual methods to conceal narcotics.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, operatives on July 7 intercepted 23 parcels of “loud” cannabis weighing 11.3kg, concealed inside microwaves imported from Thailand via an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
A suspect, Ezenwegbu Chike, was arrested in connection with the consignment.
Earlier, officials recovered 420 grams of cocaine hidden in 84 female lipsticks en route to the United Kingdom.
On July 11, another 400 grams of cocaine mixed with phenacetin; a drug-cutting agent was intercepted among cosmetics and hair attachments bound for Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. A businessman, Ezeikwelume Prince Afam, was arrested over the shipment.
In a separate operation, the NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit arrested a notorious drug kingpin, Okechukwu Izugha, alias Okey Omeogo, in Lagos on July 9 after a year in hiding.
He had previously been linked to a 9kg cocaine seizure in August 2024. His wife was earlier convicted for drug trafficking.
In Edo State, operatives destroyed over 28 tonnes of skunk cannabis cultivated on three farms spanning 11 hectares in the Ewere Uzebba forest, Owan West LGA.
The July 8 raid was met with gunfire from cartel members, but NDLEA officers escaped unhurt, despite one of their vehicles being hit. They also seized 82kg of processed cannabis at the site.
Also in Lagos, 700kg of compressed Ghanaian loud cannabis was intercepted at Okun-Ajah Beach, along with a delivery truck.
Two suspects, Innocent Ejidiobo and Friday Paul, were later arrested on the Ajah-Epe Expressway with 26kg of loud cannabis, 123 grams of methamphetamine, 45 grams of Molly, and a delivery van.
In Borno State, on July 12, Godwin Chimaobi Nwaobi was arrested with 18,759 ampoules of pentazocine, alongside various pills including tramadol and rohypnol. On July 9, 10,000 tramadol pills were recovered from another suspect, Abdulrahman Bello Ahmadu.
In Gombe State, five suspects were arrested in separate raids on July 8 and 12, with operatives recovering 116,226 pills of tramadol and D5. In Kogi, Sabiu Bala was caught with 316.6kg of skunk on July 10, while in Kaduna, Haladu Suleiman was arrested with 58.8kg of the substance.
A major bust in Taraba State saw NDLEA officers intercept 577,890 opioid pills and 1.16kg of skunk concealed inside a petrol tanker on July 12, with three suspects arrested. In Kano, 48.1kg of skunk was recovered from three suspects on July 9.
The NDLEA says the operations underscore its intensified, intelligence-led efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks nationwide.