NDLEA seizes 2.55 million opioid pills imported from India, Bangladesh at MMIA

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 2.55 million opioid pills weighing 1,640.55kg in three consignments at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

The agency disclosed this in a statement issued by its Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday.

The consignments contained Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.

NDLEA seizes 2.55 million opioid pills

The seizure was made on Tuesday, September 22, during a joint examination of three monitored consignments at the import shed of the MMIA in Ikeja, Lagos. NDLEA described the interception as one of its biggest opioid hauls of the year, adding to several major opioid seizures reported at the Lagos airport in recent months.

• “At the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday 22nd September 2026 uncovered one of the year’s biggest opioid hauls during a joint examination of three monitored consignments, leading to the seizure of Two Million Five Hundred and Fifty-Five Thousand (2,550,000) pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg, and Royal Tapentadol 250mg, with a combined gross weight of 1,640.55 kilograms.”
• “The consignments, were imported from India and Bangladesh via Qatar Airways, RwandAir, and Ethiopian Airlines,” the statement read in part.

The latest seizure adds to the NDLEA’s sustained efforts to intercept large consignments of opioids and other illicit drugs entering the country. The agency has reported several major opioid seizures at the Lagos airport in recent months, including consignments of Tramaking, Tapentadol and other controlled substances.

NDLEA widens drug crackdown nationwide

The agency also reported arrests and seizures across Lagos, Oyo, Edo and Bauchi states during the week.

At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, operatives arrested 25-year-old businessman Lovely Chukwulobelu with 72 wraps of cocaine he had allegedly ingested while attempting to travel to Portugal through Addis Ababa.

• In Oyo State, two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were arrested along the Iganna-Ilero Road with 305.6kg of skunk concealed in two pickup vans.
• At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, five suspects were arrested with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide weighing 1,688.4kg, while two vehicles allegedly used to transport the consignment were recovered.
• In Bauchi, operatives arrested Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, with 262.5kg of skunk concealed in the false bottom of a truck. In Edo State, officers supported by soldiers destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi, with an estimated combined yield of 1,360.23kg.

The agency also reported arrests and drug recoveries in Mushin and Ebute-Ero in Lagos, while its commands and formations continued War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation activities across the country.

NDLEA dismantles Enugu meth lab

The latest seizures came days after the NDLEA announced the dismantling of a Nigerian-Mexican drug cartel operating a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Eziama community, Obeagu, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.

• The operation led to the arrest of Chukwu Obumneme Christopher, 45, also known as Brown, and Chukwu Georginus Monday, 60, alias George. NDLEA said they allegedly worked with Rodriguez Villanueva, a Mexican cartel member based in Mexico City.
• The suspects were arraigned before the Federal High Court in Enugu on five charges relating to conspiracy, organising and financing a drug trafficking organisation and unlawful possession of precursor chemicals. They pleaded to the charges, while the court fixed October 21, 2026, for trial. Three other suspects named in the charges remain at large.

NDLEA said a search of the Obeagu compound uncovered a clandestine laboratory equipped for large-scale methamphetamine production, alongside chemicals and equipment allegedly used in the process. A separate search of George’s residence recovered 11kg of ephedrine and other equipment.

NDLEA tracks international drug networks

The Enugu operation adds to recent NDLEA investigations involving foreign nationals and alleged international drug networks in Nigeria.

The agency had earlier linked Mexican national Arturo Carrera Loaiza, arrested at the Lagos airport, to a methamphetamine laboratory discovered in Ebonyi State. It said Loaiza recruited another Mexican national, 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, to work at a clandestine laboratory in Oyo State. Ochoa was arrested alongside four Nigerian collaborators on June 17, 2026.

In May, NDLEA said it dismantled a Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine production syndicate, recovering illicit substances it valued at more than N480 billion and arresting 10 suspects.

In June, the agency also reported the seizure of 558,900 tablets of Tramadol 250mg in Lagos and the arrest of three suspected transnational drug traffickers.