By THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has made significant strides in its crackdown on drug trafficking with the recent arrests of two businessmen and a Canadian-based nurse for attempting to smuggle cocaine and cannabis through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
The series of operations also led to the interception of a multi-billion naira drug consignment at various seaports across the country.
The first arrest involved Ihejirika Okechukwu Emmanuel, a 51-year-old businessman, who was detained on October 15, 2024, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Thailand via Addis Ababa. Ihejirika, who claimed to be importing fish from Thailand, ingested five large egg-sized wraps of cocaine weighing 400 grams. He admitted to accepting payment for trafficking the drugs to boost his fish business.
In a similar operation, NDLEA operatives apprehended another businessman, Iwuagwu Ikedi Victory, 26, on October 17 during his return from Brazil.
Victory, who had ingested 30 pellets of cocaine, excreted one pellet weighing 22 grams at the Lagos airport. He confessed to handing over the remaining 29 pellets to a contact in Addis Ababa and was promised N2.5 million for his role in the trafficking operation.
Victory
On October 4, NDLEA officers also arrested Usman Grace Khadijat Olami, a Nigerian-Canadian nurse, during the clearance of passengers arriving from Toronto, Canada via Paris. A search of her luggage uncovered 70 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 35.70 kg.
Olami
Olami claimed she was delivering the drugs at the request of her boyfriend in Nigeria.
Multi-Billion Naira Drug Seizures at Seaports
Beyond the airport arrests, NDLEA operatives, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service, intercepted a staggering haul of drugs from several containers at the Apapa and Port Harcourt seaports. On October 15, two containers at Apapa were found to contain 162,351 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
Meanwhile, at the Port Harcourt Port Complex in Onne, Rivers State, the agency seized seven million pills of Royal 225mg Tapentadol and Carisoprodol, along with 15.6 million pills of chlorphenamine and 337,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup. The street value of the seized drugs totaled over N7 billion.
Nationwide Arrests and Raids
The NDLEA’s operations extended beyond Lagos, with major arrests and seizures reported across multiple states.
Ogenyi
In Bauchi, a suspect, Sunday Jonathan Ogenyi, was arrested with 76,600 tramadol pills concealed in his vehicle. In Ondo State, three suspects were apprehended with 672 kg of cannabis sativa in Afo village, while in Edo State, a raid in Illushi forest led to the destruction of over 10,000 kg of cannabis spread across 4.2 hectares of farmland.
Onoriode
In Lagos, the agency arrested Andrew Joseph Anoriode on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway with 3 kg of methamphetamine and 1.9 kg of cannabis. A separate operation in Badagry led to the recovery of 241 kg of the same substance.
Oscar
Additionally, a suspected methamphetamine producer, Agbeiboh Oscar, was arrested in Abule Osun with 265 grams of meth and precursor chemicals used for manufacturing the drug.
WADA Sensitization Efforts Continue Nationwide
While the NDLEA remains focused on drug interdiction, the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign is also in full swing. Sensitization programs were conducted in schools and communities across the country, including in Oyo, Kano, Cross River, Ebonyi, and Kwara states.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers involved in the recent operations, praising their commitment to reducing both the supply and demand for illicit drugs in Nigeria.
What's your reaction?
