The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted 10,000 pills of Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine linked to terrorism, in Kwara State, barely five years after the first seizure of the drug in Africa at Apapa Seaport, Lagos.
The seizure was made on Tuesday, 21 April 2026, when NDLEA operatives on patrol along Bode Saadu Road intercepted a passenger trailer. A search of one occupant, 33-year-old Nasiru Mu’azu, led to the recovery of 10 packs of Captagon containing 10,000 pills and nine packets of Tapentadol 250mg.
Captagon, widely abused in the Middle East, produces intense euphoria, suppresses fatigue, and induces fearlessness. Its production and sale are controlled by militias and criminal groups linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, who use it to fund weapons and as a combat stimulant. The drug costs as much as $25 per pill on the street.
*Second Kwara Bust, Oyo Cocaine Ingestion Case*
In a related operation on Friday, 24 April, at the same Bode Saadu checkpoint, NDLEA officers intercepted a trailer with registration RMY-70XA. A search revealed a false compartment containing 155,900 capsules of tramadol, 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injection, 3,000 tablets of co-codamol, and 9,000 tablets of bromazepam. A 24-year-old suspect, Aminu Isah, was arrested.
Also on 21 April, NDLEA operatives in Oyo State intercepted a commercial bus, MNA 963 ZY, at Akinyele along the Ibadan/Oyo Expressway en route to Sokoto. Passenger Eze Prince Emeka, 33, was subjected to a body scan that confirmed drug ingestion. Placed under observation, he excreted 45 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.043kg over three sessions.
Investigations revealed Emeka, who claims to be a Sokoto businessman, planned to travel by road to evade airport detection. He intended to excrete the pellets in Sokoto, rest, then re-ingest them to continue via trans-Saharan routes through Algeria to Europe.
*Other Interdictions Nationwide*
In Edo State, officers on patrol along the Benin/Lagos Expressway on Saturday, 25 April, intercepted a truck, NLC 146 FC, conveying 1,196,000 pills of pharmaceutical opioids heading to Onitsha, Anambra State. Suspects Osagie Igbinibo, 43, and Omijie Malik, 44, were arrested.
In Lagos, Rasheed Ibuowo, 40, was arrested at Mile 2 Expressway on 25 April with 810 kilograms of Arizona, a strain of cannabis. In Bauchi State, Muktar Bello, 35, was nabbed on 22 April at Misau Road, Azare/Katagun LGA, with 288 blocks of skunk weighing 154.5kg.
*Marwa: ‘We Are Disrupting Fuel That Powers Violence’*
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended operatives for the tactical precision of the Kwara bust. He described the Captagon seizure as a “major blow to drug syndicates attempting to revive a pipeline” dormant since the Apapa seizure five years ago.
Marwa called the operation a “wake-up call,” noting that Captagon remains a target for traffickers seeking to fuel insecurity. “We are not just seizing pills; we are disrupting the fuel that powers violence in our communities. Our operatives remain on high alert across all frontiers to ensure this illicit trade finds no foothold,” he stated
Credit: NDLEA
