NDLEA intercepts 1.63 million tramadol pills in cross-border operation

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in specially fabricated compartments of two long trailers and arrested members of a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.

The agency added that the intelligence-led operation followed the seizure of 558,900 tramadol pills concealed in a truck that entered Nigeria through the same route barely a week earlier.

According to a statement on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, one of the trailers was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while heading to Kano.

He explained that operatives recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) concealed beneath the cargo floor of the trailer and arrested its 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru.

“Ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo, through the Benin Republic, into Nigeria have yielded another success with the interception of two long trailers used to move 1,630,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in fabricated compartments of the trucks across multiple borders into Lagos.

“The intelligence-led interdiction operation came barely a week after the NDLEA operatives recovered 558,900 pills of the same psychoactive substance from the false-bottom compartment of a truck that came into Lagos through the Togo-Benin Republic route.

“One of the two trucks already heading to Kano was tracked and located on July 2, 2026, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where the NDLEA officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the trailer and arrested the 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru.”

Babafemi noted that a second trailer was tracked and intercepted on the same expressway on July 4, with officers recovering 777,000 pills of tramadol (250mg) hidden in another fabricated compartment. He added that the driver, 22-year-old Muhammed Nuhu, was arrested.

He said investigations showed that the three consignments intercepted on June 21, July 2, and July 4 belonged to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate.

The NDLEA spokesperson also disclosed that operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, intercepted two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 4.70 kilogrammes.

According to him, the consignments arrived from Canada aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on June 24 and July 3, respectively, concealed in cartons marked “Odugwu.”

Babafemi said two cargo agents, Ali Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, were initially arrested before another suspect, Edeh Stanislus, was apprehended while attempting to collect the consignments.

He added that the actual owner of the shipment, 44-year-old businesswoman Chioma Nneka Mokeme, was later arrested on July 7 with the support of the Nigeria Police Area C Command in Surulere, Lagos.

“Chioma, who claimed she is in the printing business, said her friend, Agbons Collins, who lives in Canada, introduced her to the criminal trade,” Babafemi stated.

In Rivers State, the agency arrested an 80-year-old suspect, Chika Ugwoji, in Ahoada on July 14 after he was allegedly found with 800 grammes of skunk.

“NDLEA operatives in Rivers State have arrested an 80-year-old grandpa, Chika Ugwoji, for dealing in illicit substances. The octogenarian was found in possession of 800 grammes of skunk at the time of his arrest in Ahoada on Tuesday, July 14,” the statement said.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives arrested a couple, Christian Chukwuka, 32, and Nwanneka Christian, 33, during a raid on their alleged drug warehouse along Sapele Road, Benin City.

The operation led to the seizure of 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5kg and 192.67kg of Canadian Loud.

The agency also arrested Hajara Abdullahi, 38, a Chadian national, and her Nigerian accomplice, Abdulkarim Jidda, 44, in Lagos after tracing them to a consignment of 50,000 tramadol (225mg) pills intercepted in Kogi State on July 12.

Commending officers involved in the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, retired Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa said the agency’s sustained enforcement efforts were yielding results.

Marwa stated, “Their efforts and those of their compatriots across the country have contributed in no small measure to ongoing drug control efforts across the country.”

He urged officers to remain vigilant at all times.