The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has conducted intelligence-driven operations across eight states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), resulting in the interception of over 1.3 million tablets and capsules of tramadol and other opioids, as well as approximately 6,000 kilograms of cannabis, with a combined street value of over N3.4 billion. The operations were carried out in Lagos, Edo, Niger, Delta, Ondo, Gombe, Imo, and the FCT.
Among the arrested suspects is a 49-year-old man accused of impersonating a senior police officer to evade security checks while transporting illicit drugs. According to Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the agency also arrested a mechanic accused of using his auto-repair workshop as a cover for drug storage. The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Matthew Ossai, was arrested in Edo State.
A major seizure involved 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 603.75kg and valued at N1.811 billion. The consignment was intercepted at the Tin-Can Island Port, Lagos, after NDLEA operatives placed a 40-foot container shipped from Montreal, Canada, under surveillance based on intelligence. The cannabis was concealed inside 31 black jumbo bags loaded into two Toyota Sienna vehicles within the container.
In Delta state, NDLEA operatives arrested 49-year-old Innocent Ekpe along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba with 292.48kg of skunk concealed in a silver Toyota Sienna bus. Preliminary investigation revealed that Ekpe allegedly paraded himself as Godwin Emeka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, using a forged police identity card to evade scrutiny at checkpoints while transporting illicit consignments.
In Niger State, three suspects, including Bashir Usman, 20; Abubakar Nuhu, 18; and Abdulrahman Abdulwahab, 18, were arrested along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway at Chachi, Tafa Local Government Area, on September 15, 2026. They were allegedly found with two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles and a magazine, a locally made pistol and magazine, as well as nine rounds of 9mm ammunition concealed in a black travel bag.
Along the Abaji-Abuja highway, NDLEA officers on September 18, 2026 arrested Aminu Isyaku, 23, and Jamilu Habibu, 25, and recovered more than 1.1 million assorted tramadol tablets and capsules, codeine syrup, methamphetamine, and Exol tablets. The drugs were allegedly concealed in eight sacks and were being transported from Onitsha, Anambra state, to Mararaba, Nasarawa state.
The NDLEA also made several other seizures and arrests in various states, including Lagos, Gombe, Imo, and Ondo. In Ondo state, four suspects were arrested during a raid and destruction of a two-hectare cannabis farm at Ita-Ogbolu forest, where about 5,000kg of skunk was destroyed, and 48kg of dry and fresh cannabis was recovered for prosecution.
Key points
- The NDLEA intercepted over N3.4 billion worth of illicit drugs across eight states and the FCT.
- A fake cop and a mechanic-drug dealer were among those arrested during the operations.
- The agency also destroyed a two-hectare cannabis farm in Ondo state, seizing 5,000kg of skunk.
