Nigeria’s NDLEA Seizes Opioids and Methamphetamine at Lagos Airport

Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agency has intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs concealed in luggage, courier parcels, and commercial vehicles during a series of operations across multiple states, authorities said on Sunday.

The seizures were carried out by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at Murtala Muhammed International Airport and in coordinated raids in Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Edo State, Oyo State, Federal Capital Territory, Taraba State, and Adamawa State.

Officials said the operations foiled attempts by drug trafficking networks to smuggle substances including methamphetamine and opioids to destinations in Europe.

At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, authorities arrested two suspects linked to separate attempts to transport opioid consignments to Italy.

One suspect, Friday Ehianuka, 37, was intercepted on March 20 while preparing to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome.

A search of his luggage uncovered 2,698 tablets of tramadol (225 mg) concealed inside containers of skin-lightening body cream.

Investigators said the suspect, who resides in Milan, admitted he had been promised payment in euros if the drugs were successfully delivered.

In a separate incident on March 18, another passenger, Christian Agbonhese, 38, was arrested while attempting to board a Lufthansa flight bound for Milan.

Officials discovered 28,470 opioid pills, including tramadol and tapentadol, hidden inside two large winter jackets packed in his luggage.

NDLEA officers also intercepted parcels at a Lagos courier facility on March 16.

Authorities said one shipment contained one kilogram of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, sent from the United States. Another package concealed 158 grams of methamphetamine hidden within the walls of a carton intended for export to New Zealand.

Beyond Lagos, the agency reported multiple arrests and seizures across Nigeria. In Kano, two suspects were arrested with more than 198 kilograms of skunk, a form of cannabis.

In Lagos, officers seized 21,737 bottles of codeine-based syrup from a storage facility in the Ijora area, while two other suspects were arrested on the Third Mainland Bridge transporting 8,380 bottles of the same substance.

Authorities also recovered 97.5 kilograms of skunk from a residence in Akoko-Edo, while in Abuja, officers stopped a commercial bus along the Gwagwalada expressway and discovered 91,840 tramadol tablets hidden in the vehicle’s body compartments.

Additional operations resulted in:

• 71.2 kilograms of skunk seized in Oyo State, allegedly smuggled from Benin through the Oyan River.
• 586,000 tramadol and Exol-5 tablets recovered along the Kaduna-Zaria highway.
• 77,660 tramadol capsules intercepted along the Takum-Jalingo road in Taraba State.
• 82.8 kilograms of tramadol seized from a truck in Yola, Adamawa State, leading to the arrest of six suspects believed to be linked to the consignment.

The NDLEA continues to intensify its fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse by combining enforcement operations with public awareness campaigns across the country.