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Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted consignments of captagon, popularly known as the “Jihadi drug,” and millions of opioid pills worth more than N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The captagon seizure followed the arrest of a 49-year-old cross-border drug trafficking kingpin who arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana, while the opioid consignments were recovered from abandoned shipments at the airport’s import shed.
The NDLEA disclosed this in a statement on Sunday signed by Femi Babafemi, its Director of Media and Advocacy.
What NDLEA is saying
NDLEA said the seizures included 47,200 pills of captagon valued at over N1.5 billion and 3.9 million tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg worth more than N4.6 billion.
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- The captagon consignment was intercepted at MMIA on Saturday, August 22, following the arrest of Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, a 49-year-old cross-border kingpin.
- Aikins had arrived from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight and was found with a carton containing blocks of local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap.”
- A search of the carton led to the recovery of 47,200 pills of the illicit amphetamine drug concealed within the soap blocks.
According to the agency, Aikins claimed after his arrest that he was meant to deliver the consignment in northern Nigeria.
Captagon is an illicit amphetamine drug that has been dubbed the “Jihadi drug” because of its reported use in funding extremist activities in conflict zones.
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, no fewer than 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg were recovered from four abandoned consignments at the import shed of MMIA.
- Three of the consignments, comprising 900,000 tablets of Tramaking weighing 815.40kg, arrived aboard RwandAir flights from Bangladesh.
- A fourth consignment, comprising 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol weighing 1,972kg, arrived on Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.
The four consignments had a combined gross weight of 2,787.40kg and a street value of more than N4.6 billion.
Other seizures
A 31-year-old US returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, was arrested by NDLEA operatives on August 19 in the Ikate area of Lekki after he showed up to take delivery of 3.350kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.
- In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided the notorious Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, where they recovered a fireproof iron safe among other items.
- The safe was cracked open with a welding machine on Tuesday, August 25, leading to the recovery of 237 grams of Colorado, 316 grams of cocaine and 10 grams of heroin.
Two other suspects, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were arrested at Aponmu forest on Wednesday, August 26, with 341kg of the same substance.
In Delta State, more than 176,000 pills of assorted opioids, including tramadol, Molly and others, were recovered from two interdiction operations carried out between Wednesday, August 26 and Friday, August 28.
Get up to speed
The latest interception comes amid a series of major drug seizures by the NDLEA, particularly in Lagos, where the agency has continued to target international trafficking routes and large consignments of opioids and other illicit drugs.
- In July, the agency intercepted a combined haul of cocaine, cannabis and opioids worth about N10 billion at Lagos ports, courier facilities and other locations in a series of operations conducted within a single week.
- Earlier in April, NDLEA operatives also raided three illicit drug warehouses in Lagos and recovered opioids valued at N16.9 billion.
The agency’s enforcement activity has also extended beyond Lagos.
In April, NDLEA secured an interim forfeiture order covering N33.6 billion worth of opioids intercepted in 17 containers at the Onne Port in Rivers State, comprising millions of pills of Tramadol, Tafrodol, Tapentadol and Carisoprodol, as well as codeine syrup.
What you should know
The latest airport seizure comes as the NDLEA continues its wider campaign against drug trafficking networks across Nigeria.
In June, the agency said it had seized more than 15 million kilogrammes of assorted illicit substances, made over 80,000 arrests and secured more than 15,000 convictions between January 2021 and May 2026.
Babafemi said the agency had also expanded its demand-reduction efforts during the period, carrying out more than 14,000 War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities.
