By Kaseem Waris
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has intercepted 47,200 pills of captagon, popularly known as the “Jihadi drug,” and 3.9 million tablets of assorted opioids valued at more than N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos.
The agency also arrested a 49-year-old alleged cross-border drug trafficker, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, who arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana, aboard an Africa World Airlines flight.
According to NDLEA, operatives recovered the 47,200 captagon pills, valued at over N1.5 billion, concealed inside blocks of local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap,” following a search of Aikins’ luggage on August 22.
The agency said the suspect told investigators that the consignment was destined for the northern part of the country.
Captagon is an amphetamine-based stimulant that has been associated with illicit trafficking and use in conflict zones. NDLEA said it first intercepted the drug in Nigeria in September 2021 at the Apapa port in Lagos.
In a separate operation at the airport, NDLEA said 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 2,787.40kg and valued at more than N4.6 billion, were recovered from four abandoned consignments at the import shed.
The agency said three consignments containing 900,000 tablets of Tramaking, weighing 815.40kg, arrived on RwandAir flights from Bangladesh, while another containing 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol, weighing 1,972kg, arrived on Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.
NDLEA said the consignments had been placed under surveillance after no one came forward to claim them. They were subsequently retrieved and examined jointly by NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders on August 28.
Meanwhile, a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, was arrested on August 19 in the Ikate area of Lekki, Lagos, after allegedly attempting to take delivery of 3.35kg of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.
Cocaine, heroin recovered from safe
In Rivers State, NDLEA said operatives raided a drug location in the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt and recovered a fireproof iron safe.
The agency said the safe was opened with a welding machine on August 25, leading to the recovery of 237g of Colorado, 316g of cocaine and 10g of heroin.
In Ondo State, three suspects — Oyedele Daniel, 42; Taye Saliu, 36; and Kehinde Saliu, 36 — were arrested along the Ipele-Idoani road on August 28 with 728kg of skunk allegedly concealed in their truck, marked KRE 120 XB.
Two other suspects, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were arrested at Aponmu forest on August 26 with 341kg of skunk, according to the agency.
In Delta State, NDLEA said more than 176,000 pills of assorted opioids, including tramadol and Molly, were recovered during two interdiction operations conducted between August 26 and 28.
The agency also reported continued War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitisation campaigns across the country, targeting schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged commands nationwide to sustain the agency’s drug control efforts.
Marwa particularly directed officers to maintain pressure on traffickers who, he said, were increasingly resorting to unconventional methods of concealing illicit drugs, including hiding consignments in household items.
