The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a man accused of impersonating a police officer and a mechanic as part of a series of operations that resulted in the seizure of over 1.3 million tramadol pills and 6,000kg of cannabis. The seizures, which took place across Lagos, Edo, Niger, Delta, Ondo, Gombe, Imo, and the Federal Capital Territory, have a combined street value of more than ₦3.4 billion.
One of the arrests occurred in Asaba, Delta State, where NDLEA officers stopped 49-year-old Innocent Ekpe on September 16, 2026, along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway. Ekpe was allegedly traveling with 292.48kg of skunk in a silver Toyota Sienna and had been presenting himself as “Godwin Emeka”, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, using a forged police identification card.
In neighbouring Edo State, NDLEA operatives arrested 45-year-old mechanic Matthew Ossai at an auto-repair workshop on Agbor Road, Benin City. The agency alleged that the workshop was being used as a front for storing drugs, and officers reportedly recovered 48kg of Canadian Loud, 152g of methamphetamine, and a metal box.
A major cannabis seizure was made in Lagos, where NDLEA officers intercepted 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 603.75kg at Tin-Can Island Port. The shipment had arrived from Montreal, Canada, on September 12 inside a 40-foot container. The NDLEA valued this seizure alone at ₦1.811 billion.
The crackdown also uncovered a major opioid consignment in Niger State, where NDLEA officers arrested Aminu Isyaku, 23, and Jamilu Habibu, 25, along the Abaji-Abuja Highway on September 18. More than 1.1 million assorted tramadol tablets and capsules, alongside codeine syrup, methamphetamine, and Exol tablets, were allegedly found in eight sacks being transported from Onitsha, Anambra State.
Other operations produced further seizures, including the arrest of Onyeka Ofor in Aguda, Surulere, with 48,900 225mg tramadol pills, and the interception of 59kg of cannabis at a logistics company. In Gombe, 154,480 tramadol capsules were recovered from two suspects, and in Ondo State, officers raided a two-hectare cannabis farm, destroying about 5,000kg of skunk.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended officers involved in the latest operations and urged them to maintain a balanced approach to drug control. The repeated appearance of tramadol in major seizures points to Nigeria’s long-running problem with non-medical opioid use, as cited in the National Drug Control Master Plan and the 2019 National Drug Use Survey.
Key points
- NDLEA operatives seized over 1.3 million tramadol pills and 6,000kg of cannabis with a combined street value of ₦3.4 billion.
- A fake police officer and a mechanic were arrested during the operations.
- The seizures were part of a wider pattern of opioid use in Nigeria, with tramadol being the most commonly misused prescription opioid.
