The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans, while trafficking 5.3 kilograms of tramadol concealed in full-body mannequins to Cameroon.
The agency disclosed this in a statement by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media & Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, on Sunday, 11th January 2026.
The arrest highlights growing cross-border opioid trafficking and the creative methods used to evade law enforcement.
What agency said
NDLEA explained that Romans was intercepted on Oron-Ibaka road, Oron Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, while returning from the Christmas and New Year holidays.
“The suspect claims he resides in Cameroon and was reportedly returning to his base after the Christmas and New Year holidays when he was apprehended. It was revealed that he bought the drugs in Onitsha, Anambra state and was trafficking them to Cameroun to sell, using two mannequins to conceal the opioids,” the agency stated.
The agency emphasized that the operation reflects its intensified surveillance and intelligence-led interventions against the illicit drug supply.
In another operation, barely three years after serving a two-year prison sentence for drug trafficking, 80-year-old Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta was apprehended again by NDLEA operatives for returning to the illicit drug trade.
Nkanta returned to the illicit drug trade and, following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 10th January 2025, tracked the Octogenarian ex-convict to his Mmanta – Abak village, Abak local government area of Akwa Ibom state, where he was arrested with 5.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, in his residence.
Major seizures and arrests
NDLEA operatives carried out raids across Ibadan, Oyo State, leading to multiple arrests and drug recoveries.
Among those apprehended was 45-year-old Remi Bamidele, also known as ‘Aluko the Mafia,’ arrested with a total of 10.696 kilograms of various cannabis strains including Colorado, Scottish Loud, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud, and skunk. Two vehicles were also recovered at the scene.
Other suspects included Adeola Toheeb, 27, arrested with cannabis at Adegbayi, and Habeeb Ali, 29, nabbed at Ring Road with 1.264kg of cannabis and N1,307,100 in cash.
- In Edo State, Osagbovo Edigin, 30, along with Ebimi Labo, 28, and Akhimie Success, 25, were arrested with 118 grams of Canadian Loud and a wrap of Colorado.
- In Taraba State, Yusuf Usman, 41, was nabbed with 100 blocks of skunk weighing 47kg, while in Niger State, Nazifi Umar, 22, was caught with 4,000 tramadol 225mg pills.
- Adamawa State also recorded a significant seizure, with Ugwoke Chibueze, 40, arrested at Lamido Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, and 30,950 capsules of tramadol recovered from his home in Bachure area, Yola South LGA.
- Jimoh Agbonmhegbe, 49, and Evelyn Okoyomon, 38, were arrested in Edo State with 17.552kg and 930 grams of cannabis respectively.
What you should know
Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has sustained a series of high‑impact anti‑narcotics operations in recent years as traffickers step up efforts to move large quantities of opioids and other illicit substances across the country.
NDLEA’s national data shows that between January 2021 and March 2025, the agency arrested over 62,000 drug suspects and destroyed more than 10 million kilograms of assorted illicit substances.
In December 2025, the agency reported seizing more than 7.6 million tramadol pills and over 76,000 kilograms of cannabis in coordinated raids targeting urban markets, highways and hidden storage sites in several states.
The agency dismantled a trans‑border drug trafficking network, arresting four suspects and seizing nearly 191,000 tramadol pills concealed in vehicles heading from Onitsha to Yola, with the consignment traced to an Onitsha‑based dealer.
The agency’s enforcement reach also extends to international collaboration.
In one of the largest recorded drug interdictions at Tincan Island Port, Lagos, NDLEA began a joint investigation with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the UK National Crime Agency after the interception of 1,000 kilograms of cocaine.
The shipment, initially discovered by PTML terminal operators in an unmarked container, is valued at over $235 million on the international market
