In a significant breakthrough against drug trafficking and related criminal activities, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has carried out a nationwide intelligence-led operation that led to the recovery of multi-billion-naira worth of cocaine and other illicit substances. These operations, which targeted various logistics companies and locations across the country, underscore the agency’s relentless efforts to curb the menace of drug trafficking in Nigeria.
According to a statement released on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media & Advocacy for the NDLEA, the operations uncovered a range of sophisticated methods used by drug traffickers to conceal their illegal activities. In one instance, 2.32 kilograms of cocaine were found hidden within Ghanaian traditional Kente fabric at a courier firm in Lagos.
This particular shipment was bound for the United Kingdom but was intercepted by NDLEA officers on Monday, August 5, 2024, before it could leave the country. In a similar operation, a staggering 10.494 kilograms of cocaine were discovered concealed inside heavy-duty pivot shafts at the same logistics company. These shafts, intended for shipment to the United States, were identified after NDLEA sniffer dogs detected the presence of the illicit drugs within the automobile parts. Combined, these seizures amounted to a total of 12.814 kilograms of cocaine, marking a significant victory for the agency.
The NDLEA’s operations didn’t stop there. On Friday, August 9, 2024, five other consignments, all headed for the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, were intercepted at the same Lagos-based courier firm. Among these were 517 grams of cocaine concealed within clothing materials, as well as various quantities of pentazocine injections, promethazine injections, and cocodamol pills, all destined for the UK. Additionally, 297 pills of tramadol 225mg, intended for delivery in Canada, were also seized.
In another coordinated operation at a different logistics company in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 21 parcels of “Loud,” a potent synthetic strain of cannabis. The parcels, weighing a total of 10 kilograms, were en route from the United States and were meant for delivery in Abuja. This particular strain of cannabis has been increasingly trafficked into the country, prompting the NDLEA to intensify its surveillance and interception efforts.
The NDLEA’s intelligence-led approach also led to the arrest of a key member of a cocaine trafficking network on Wednesday, August 7, 2024. The suspect was apprehended in the Alafia Orile area of Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, as he attempted to move 9 kilograms of cocaine to Onitsha, Anambra State. This arrest was followed by the capture of two additional members of the same syndicate in a subsequent operation on Thursday, August 8, 2024.
The arrests were made after NDLEA operatives intercepted their drug consignments on a transport company bus in Benin, Edo State. The bus driver, caught at the Benin tollgate, was found with 2.865 kilograms of cocaine. Another member of the gang was arrested in Nnewi, Anambra State, while attempting to collect his consignment of 1.748 kilograms of cocaine and 514 grams of sodium bicarbonate. A third suspect was apprehended in Oba town as he tried to retrieve his 1.117 kilograms of cocaine.
The NDLEA’s crackdown extended to the Tincan Seaport in Lagos, where on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, operatives intercepted 532 parcels of “Loud,” weighing a total of 265.25 kilograms. The synthetic cannabis was hidden inside a black Toyota Sienna bus, one of three vehicles contained within a shipment from Montreal, Canada.
This discovery was made during a 100 percent joint examination conducted in collaboration with the Nigerian Customs Service and other stakeholders. Just a day later, on Thursday, August 8, 2024, NDLEA officers seized another 75 parcels of the same substance, weighing 37.5 kilograms, from a container marked FSCU-9274613, which also arrived from Canada.
Further inland, in Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives, supported by personnel from Operation Farauta Sector 3, Mayo Belwa, arrested a suspect on Thursday, August 8, 2024. The individual was found with 425 compressed blocks of cannabis sativa, weighing 291.2 kilograms, hidden inside his Toyota Camry car. The suspect claimed that he was transporting the consignment from Edo State to deliver it in Yola, Adamawa State. Meanwhile, in Kano, two suspects were apprehended in the Gadar Tamburawa area on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, with 29.5 kilograms of cannabis in their possession.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives in Lagos seized a significant quantity of cannabis, totaling 1,169 kilograms, from a bus along Orchid Road, Ajah, on Sunday, August 4, 2024. Additionally, in Kogi State, NDLEA officers, supported by the Nigerian Army, destroyed no less than 1,230 kilograms of cannabis sativa that had been cultivated on three hectares of farmland in Ikeje Forest, Edimogo Village, Igalamela/Odolu Local Government Area. The owner of the farm was arrested and is currently in custody.
Beyond these seizures and arrests, the NDLEA has also been actively involved in community outreach through its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative. Over the past week, the agency has conducted sensitization activities in various schools, worship centers, workplaces, and communities across the country.
These efforts included a WADA enlightenment lecture for women at Fowewe Sofuwa Islamic Centre in Saki, Oyo State, and a WADA sensitization lecture, coupled with the inauguration of a community drug control committee in Nnando Community, Anambra State. Additionally, the agency’s WADA advocacy team visited the Emir of Ilorin, HRH Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, in Kwara State, and delivered a sensitization lecture to members of the Ansaru-ud-deen Muslim Society of Nigeria in Ado Ekiti, among other activities.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the officers and men involved in these operations, particularly those from the Special Operations Unit, Tincan, Lagos, Edo, Kano, Kogi, and Adamawa Commands, as well as the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI).
He urged them and their colleagues across the country to maintain their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, emphasizing the importance of their ongoing work in safeguarding the nation from the dangers of drug trafficking and abuse.
