Mega Drug Bust: NDLEA Seizes N6.2 Billion 'Jihadi Drug' Opioids at Lagos Airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced significant drug interceptions, primarily at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, totaling over N6.2 billion in estimated street value. These operations involved the seizure of captagon, known as the “Jihadi drug,” and millions of opioid tablets, alongside other busts across the country.

One major interception involved 47,200 pills of captagon, valued at more than N1.5 billion. This consignment was recovered on August 22 from a 49-year-old suspected cross-border drug kingpin, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, who arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana, aboard an Africa World Airlines flight. A meticulous search of his carton of local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap,” revealed the captagon pills cleverly concealed within the blocks. Aikins reportedly told investigators he was expected to deliver the illicit drugs in northern Nigeria. Captagon is an amphetamine-type stimulant, widely associated with illicit drug markets and armed groups, particularly in conflict zones like parts of the Middle East. The NDLEA noted that this marked the second time the drug had been intercepted in Nigeria, with the first instance occurring in September 2021 at the Apapa Port in Lagos.

In a separate, equally significant operation at the MMIA’s import shed, NDLEA operatives recovered 3,900,030 tablets of potent opioids, specifically Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg. These tablets had a combined gross weight of 2,787.40 kilograms and an estimated street value exceeding N4.6 billion. The drugs were found in four abandoned consignments that had been under surveillance after no one came forward to claim them. Three of these consignments contained a total of 900,000 Tramaking tablets, weighing 815.40kg, and originated from Bangladesh, arriving via RwandAir flights. The fourth consignment, comprising 3,000,030 Tapentadol tablets weighing 1,972kg, arrived from Amsterdam aboard a Qatar Airways flight. These consignments were formally retrieved and jointly examined by NDLEA officers, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other relevant stakeholders on Friday, August 28.

Beyond the major airport seizures, the NDLEA also conducted several other successful operations nationwide. In Lagos, a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, was apprehended on August 19 in the Ikate area of Lekki. He was arrested after allegedly attempting to take delivery of 3.350kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.

In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided a drug den in the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt on August 25. During the raid, they recovered a fireproof iron safe, which they opened using a welding machine. Inside, officers found 237 grammes of Colorado, 316 grammes of cocaine, and 10 grammes of heroin.

Ondo State saw multiple arrests for skunk trafficking. On August 28, three suspects—Oyedele Daniel (42), Taye Saliu (36), and Kehinde Saliu (36)—were arrested along the Ipele-Idoani Road with 728kg of skunk recovered from their truck. Earlier, on August 26, two other suspects, Uche Joseph (35) and Godwin Umeh (21), were arrested at Aponmu Forest with 341kg of skunk.

Furthermore, in Delta State, the agency reported the recovery of more than 176,000 tablets of assorted opioids, including tramadol and Molly, through two separate operations conducted between August 26 and 28.

Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, commended the officers for their diligence and success in these operations. He urged them to sustain their rigorous enforcement and prevention efforts, including the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign in schools, worship centres, and communities. Marwa also directed operatives to maintain intense pressure on drug traffickers, particularly those who employ increasingly sophisticated methods to conceal illicit substances, such as hiding them within household items like soap.