Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted illicit drugs worth over N10 billion at Lagos ports and airports, with several kingpins and traffickers arrested in a series of intelligence-led operations across the country between 19th and 24th July 2026.
At the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, a 55-year-old businessman, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, who trades in clothing at Balogun Market, Lagos Island, was arrested on Thursday 23rd July. He was linked to a 3.30kg cocaine consignment concealed in the walls of cartons containing foodstuffs and destined for the United Kingdom. The consignment was intercepted on Wednesday 22nd July. Investigations led to the arrest of three cargo agents — Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed, and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim — and subsequently Kenneth Okakpu, who delivered the drugs to the agents.
Okakpu’s confession provided the lead that exposed Onuigbo as the alleged mastermind of the syndicate. NDLEA operatives rearrested him while he was attempting to ship another consignment of cocaine to the UK. The agency described the bust as part of its renewed crackdown on export-linked trafficking networks.
In another airport operation, a 31-year-old entrepreneur, Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo, was arrested on Tuesday 21st July at her Surulere residence. This followed the seizure of her 2.80kg consignment of “Loud,” a synthetic strain of cannabis, which arrived from the United States aboard a United Airlines flight on Monday 20th July.
At the same MMIA cargo terminal, NDLEA officers, working with other security agencies, recovered 2,240,000,000 pills of Tapentadol 250mg with an estimated street value of over N2.2 billion. The opioid shipment came from India aboard an Air Maroc flight and was intercepted on Friday 24th July based on processed intelligence. Days earlier, on Wednesday 22nd July, operatives also intercepted tramadol concealed in containers of black soap at a courier firm in Lagos, en route to the UK.
The agency also recorded a major seizure at the Apapa Seaport. During a joint examination on Monday 20th July, a container carrying three vehicles was found to conceal 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud weighing 2,388.5kg. The drugs, valued at over N7.1 billion, were uncovered in a coordinated operation by NDLEA and port authorities.
Outside Lagos, NDLEA made significant arrests in the North. On Wednesday 22nd July, Mustapha Sani, 30, was nabbed at Baure, Safana LGA, Katsina State, with 323 rounds of military-grade ammunition — 200 rounds of 7.62mm and 123 rounds of 7.6mm — neatly concealed. Similarly, Abubakar Amadu, 30, was arrested at Jere along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway with 73 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition hidden in kegs of red oil. Both suspects have been handed over to relevant security agencies for further investigation.
In Edo State, raid operations at Ilushi community, Esan South East LGA, on Sunday 19th July yielded 1,286kg of cannabis and 86kg of cannabis seeds from a warehouse. Two other suspects, Ojore Onweze, 45, and George Agwumede, 30, were arrested with 60kg and 13kg of skunk respectively.
Commending officers of the DOGI, MMIA, Apapa, Edo, Kaduna, and Katsina Commands, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control. He reiterated that there would be no safe haven for drug barons and warned traffickers to desist or face the full weight of the law.
