Yan Nigeria
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the interception of no fewer than six million opioid pills, specifically tamol 225mg, tapentadol 225mg, and carisoprodol 225mg, along with 332,000 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers, and the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
In a statement obtained by Naija News on Sunday, May 25, the Director, Media & Advocacy NDLEA Headquarters Abuja, Femi Babafemi, noted that the seizures at the Apapa and Onne ports were a result of intelligence and tracking of new trafficking routes used by drug cartels to smuggle illicit substances into Nigeria, which led to the containers being placed on a watch list for thorough examination.
The consignments at the Port Harcourt ports included six million opioid pills and 162,000 bottles of codeine syrup, which were discovered in two containers during a joint examination conducted by NDLEA officers, Nigeria Customs, and other security agencies on Monday, May 19th, and Tuesday, May 20th, 2025.
At the Apapa port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives found a total of 170,000 bottles of codeine syrup in a watch-listed container during a similar joint examination exercise on Thursday, May 22nd.
Meanwhile, two British nationals, Mhizha Jordan Alexander Tatendra and Ayedipe Andrew Adejuwon, along with two Nigerians, Shonowo Oluwaseun Imole and Ofuoma Omokaro Ayobami, have been apprehended by NDLEA operatives for attempting to smuggle 92 bags of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 51.10kg, into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
Upon his arrival at the MMIA on a Qatar Airline flight from Doha on Thursday, May 15th, Alexander was intercepted with the consignment based on processed intelligence. He was permitted to pass through security without hindrance, while NDLEA operatives closely monitored him to the car park.
There, the cargo’s owner, Ayedipe Andrew Adejuwon, a Nigerian British, awaited him in an SUV alongside his relative, Shonowo Oluwaseun Imole, and the vehicle’s driver, Ofuoma Omokaro Ayobami, to receive the delivery.
However, as they attempted to exit the airport car park, the NDLEA operatives, who were tracking them, swooped in and arrested them with the drug exhibits found in the vehicle.
In his statement, Alexander admitted that he had been recruited during his vacation weeks prior, with a promise of 1,300 British Pounds for a successful delivery of the consignment in Lagos. The leader of the syndicate, Ayedipe Andrew Adejuwon, revealed that he had arrived in Nigeria a day earlier from South Africa via Ghana.
A follow-up operation at their Lekki apartment resulted in further discoveries. At the time of his arrest, N93,000 and 17,200 South African Rand were recovered from Alexander.
A search of his Lekki apartment led to the seizure of Three Million Eight Hundred and Ten Thousand Five Hundred Naira (N3,810,500) in cash, an Apple laptop, an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and four canisters of laughing gas (Nitro Oxide).
On 30 hectares of cannabis farms in Esuk-Odot village, Odukpani LGA, Cross River state, NDLEA operatives destroyed a total of 75,000 kilograms of skunk. Additionally, 200kg of the same substance was recovered on Wednesday, May 22nd, while 1,957.5kg of this psychoactive plant was destroyed at Ohosu forest, Ovia South West LGA, and Okhuse community forest, Owan West LGA, Edo State on Friday, May 23rd and Saturday, May 24th.
In Nasarawa state, two individuals, Sunday Daniel, aged 51, and Abu Peter, aged 30, were apprehended by NDLEA operatives in Keffi on Saturday, May 24th, after 4,000 kilograms of skunk were found hidden beneath unprocessed wood in their truck. Additionally, another suspect, Godwin Obi, aged 39, was arrested in Karu on Wednesday, May 21st, with 154.5 kilograms of the same substance.
In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives conducting patrols along the Kaduna – Zaria expressway at Gwargwaje on Wednesday, May 21st, intercepted 22-year-old Muhammad Hamza, who was in possession of 57,750 pills of tramadol and diazepam. On the same day, their colleagues in Bauchi apprehended Usman Muhammad, aged 45, along the Bauchi-Misau road with 80 blocks of skunk weighing 45 kilograms.
Similarly, operatives engaged in stop-and-search operations along the Potiskum–Damaturu road in Yobe state intercepted 55 parcels of Colorado, weighing 2 kilograms, which a suspect named Adum Muhammed, aged 29, was attempting to smuggle into the Republic of Chad via the Ngamboru Ngala border town in Borno State.
In Niger state, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Mokwa-Jebba road on Thursday, May 22nd, intercepted a Mercedes Benz car with the registration number FST 938 FU, which was loaded with 235 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa weighing 97 kilograms, leading to the arrest of a suspect named Adams Ayibakro.
Meanwhile, operatives in Lagos conducted a raid in the Osapa London area of Lekki, resulting in the arrest of a suspect named Jonathan Isa, who was found with various quantities of Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Molly, Rohypnol, Codeine, Cannabis, and Nitrous Oxide. Another raid in Idasun, Eleko, Ibeju Lekki on Saturday, May 24th, resulted in the arrest of Olamilekan Idowu and the seizure of 48 kilograms of skunk.
The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy initiatives by the NDLEA Commands also continued nationwide over the past week. Some of these activities included a WADA sensitisation lecture delivered to students and staff at Adamu Babbale Government Secondary School in Dimirkol, Katsina; Mary Hanney Secondary School in Oron, Akwa Ibom; Nnodo Secondary School in Abakaliki, Ebonyi; Government Secondary School in Guyuk, Adamawa; and Government Girls Islamic Secondary School in Gwagwarwa, Kano, while Lagos State…
In acknowledging the commendable efforts of the officers and personnel from the PHPC, MMIA, Apapa, Nasarawa, Cross River, Edo, Lagos, Niger, Kaduna, Yobe, and Bauchi Commands of the Agency for their recent arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) expressed his appreciation for their colleagues in all commands nationwide for maintaining an equitable balance between their initiatives aimed at reducing drug supply and those focused on diminishing drug demand.
Below are pictures of the suspects arrested:
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