The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have intercepted consignments of captagon, widely known as ‘Jihadi drug’ and millions of opioid pills worth over N6.2 billion.
The agency in a statement on Sunday said the drugs were intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja-Lagos on Saturday, 22nd August, 2026.
It said the action followed the arrest of a 49-year-old cross-border kingpin, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, who arrived from Accra, Ghana aboard an African World Airlines flight.
Spokesman of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the development in a statement on Sunday.
He said a search of the suspect’s carton of local bathing soap, popularly called “Ghana Soap,” led to the recovery of 47,200 pills of the illicit amphetamine drug worth over N1.5 billion.
Babafemi added that the amphetamine drug was concealed within blocks of soap.
According to him, the Captagon, which is notoriously dubbed the ‘Jihadi drug’ for its use in funding extremist activities in conflict zones, was first intercepted in Nigeria by NDLEA in September 2021 at the Apapa port in Lagos.
“After his arrest, Akinbile claimed he was meant to deliver the consignment in the North,” Babafemi said.
The NDLEA said in another successful interdiction operation at the Lagos airport, no fewer than 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, with a combined gross weight of 2,787.40 kilograms and more than N4.6 billion in street value, were recovered by its operatives from four abandoned consignments at the import shed of the MMIA.
“Three of the consignments, comprising 900,000 tablets of Tramaking (815.40kg), arrived aboard RwandAir flights from Bangladesh, while a fourth, comprising 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol (1,972kg), arrived on Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.
“The shipments, which had been placed under close watch after no one showed up to claim them, were formally retrieved after a joint examination by NDLEA officers, Customs and other stakeholders on Friday, 28th August.
“A 31-year-old US-returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun was on 19th August arrested by NDLEA operatives at Ikate area of Lekki after he showed up to take delivery of 3.350 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.
*Fireproof safe cracked open in Rivers drug den raid*
“In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives have raided the notorious Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt where they recovered a fireproof iron safe among other items.
“When the safe was cracked open with a welding machine on Tuesday, 25th August, 237 grams of colorado; 316 grams of cocaine, and 10 grams of heroin were recovered from it.
“Three suspects: Oyedele Daniel, 42; Taye Saliu, 36; and Kehinde Saliu, 36, were on Friday 28th August nabbed on Ipele-Idoani road, in Ondo State with a total of 728kg skunk recovered from their truck marked KRE 120 XB.
“Two other suspects: Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were arrested at Aponmu forest with 341kg of same substance on Wednesday, 26th August.
“In Delta State, over 176,000 pills of assorted opioids including tramadol, molly and others were recovered from two interdiction operations in parts of the state between Wednesday, 26th and Friday, 28th August, “the statement explained.
The NDLEA said its various commands and formations across the country also intensified their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities during the week in review.
It said the sensitization activities were held in schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the week.
These activities include WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Markaz Littahfizul Quran Wal Islamiyyat, Dadin Kowa, Gombe; Zangina Islamiyyah Alasawa Kurna, Ungogo LGA, Kano and youths at the adolescent lifestyle programme organised by NNPCL in Benin city, Edo State.
During the week in review, the agency disclosed that its Ondo State Command of NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to the State Governor, Dr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, with the Taraba State command of the agency also paying a similar advocacy visit to the State Governor, Dr Agbu Kefas.
In his reaction, the Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa commended the officers and men of MMIA, Ondo, and Delta Commands for the various successful operations recorded by them.
Marwa enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.
He also directed them to sustain the momentum against drug traffickers who he said are becoming more desperate to explore every means, including concealment in everyday household items like soap, to move their illicit consignments.
(vitalnewsng.com)
