NDLEA Seizes N6.2bn ‘Jihadi Drug’, Opioids At Lagos Airport

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted consignments of captagon, popularly known as ‘Jihadi drug’, and millions of opioid tablets valued at more than N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

The agency also arrested a suspected cross-border drug kingpin and recovered cocaine, heroin and Colorado cannabis from a fireproof safe during a raid on a drug den in Rivers State.

The NDLEA, in a statement on Sunday, said a 49-year-old suspect, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, was arrested at the Lagos airport on August 22 after arriving from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.

According to the agency, a search of his carton containing local bathing soap, popularly called “Ghana Soap”, uncovered 47,200 pills of captagon concealed inside the blocks of soap.

The consignment, with an estimated street value of more than N1.5 billion, was allegedly destined for delivery in northern Nigeria.

Captagon, an amphetamine-based stimulant, has acquired the nickname ‘Jihadi drug’ because of its reported association with militant and extremist networks in conflict zones.

The NDLEA said its first interception of the drug in Nigeria was recorded in September 2021 at the Apapa Port in Lagos.

In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, the agency recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 2,787.40kg and estimated at more than N4.6 billion.

The drugs were found in four abandoned consignments at the import shed of the airport after their owners failed to show up to take delivery.

Three of the consignments contained 900,000 tablets of Tramaking weighing 815.40kg and arrived on RwandAir flights from Bangladesh.

The fourth consignment contained 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol weighing 1,972kg and was brought into the country aboard Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.

The NDLEA said the consignments had been placed under surveillance before they were formally retrieved on August 28 following a joint examination involving its officers, the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders.

Meanwhile, operatives arrested a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, in the Ikate area of Lekki, Lagos, on August 19.

Oludotun was allegedly arrested while attempting to collect 3.350kg of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.

In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided a notorious drug location in the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, where they recovered a fireproof iron safe.

The agency said officers had to use a welding machine to break open the safe on August 25, leading to the recovery of 237g of Colorado cannabis, 316g of cocaine and 10g of heroin.

The operation came amid intensified efforts by the agency to disrupt drug distribution networks and dismantle locations used for storing illicit substances.

In Ondo State, three suspects identified as Oyedele Daniel, 42; Taye Saliu, 36; and Kehinde Saliu, 36, were arrested on August 28 along the Ipele-Idoani road.

A total of 728kg of skunk was recovered from their truck, marked KRE 120 XB.

Two other suspects, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were arrested on August 26 in Aponmu forest, where NDLEA officers recovered another 341kg of skunk.

In Delta State, the agency also recovered more than 176,000 tablets of assorted opioids, including tramadol and molly, in two separate interdiction operations conducted between August 26 and 28.

Beyond its enforcement operations, the NDLEA said its commands and formations across the country sustained sensitisation activities under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign during the week.

The campaign covered schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities, with lectures and advocacy programmes held in Gombe, Kano and Edo states.

The Ondo State Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, while the Taraba Command visited Governor Agbu Kefas as part of efforts to strengthen state-level collaboration in the fight against drug abuse.

In Gombe, officers sensitised students and staff of Markaz Littahfizul Quran Wal Islamiyyat, Dadin Kowa, while a similar programme was held at Zangina Islamiyyah Alasawa Kurna in Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano State.

The agency also engaged youths participating in an adolescent lifestyle programme organised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in Benin City, Edo State.

Commending officers of the MMIA, Ondo and Delta commands for their recent successes, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.

Marwa also directed the officers to maintain pressure on traffickers who, he said, were becoming increasingly desperate and innovative in their attempts to move illicit drugs.

He particularly warned against the use of ordinary household items as concealment methods, following the discovery of the captagon hidden inside bathing soap at the Lagos airport.