Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted consignments of illicit drugs worth over N6.2 billion, including amphetamines concealed in traditional Ghanaian soap and millions of opioid tablets, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The cross-border seizure occurred following the arrest of a 49-year-old suspect, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, who arrived from Accra, Ghana, aboard an Africa World Airlines flight.
A thorough inspection of a carton containing local bathing soap, commonly known as “Ghana Soap,” revealed 47,200 pills of Captagon valued at over N1.5 billion hidden inside blocks of soap. The amphetamine shipment, famously dubbed the “Jihadi drug,” was destined for northern Nigeria.
In a related interdiction at the MMIA import shed, NDLEA operatives retrieved four abandoned cargo consignments containing 3,900,030 opioid tablets, specifically Tramaking (225mg) and Tapentadol (250mg) with a gross weight of 2,787.40 kilograms and an estimated street value exceeding N4.6 billion.
The shipments, which arrived from Bangladesh and Amsterdam aboard RwandAir and Qatar Airways flights, were formally confiscated following joint examinations with Nigerian Customs.
Across other state commands, the agency operatives sustained their crackdown on illicit drug trafficking networks.
In Lagos, operatives arrested a US-returnee in Lekki for attempting to receive 3.35 kilograms of “Loud” imported from the United Kingdom, while in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, officers breached a fireproof iron safe during a den raid to recover quantities of cocaine, Colorado, and heroin.
Similar anti-narcotic operations in Ondo State led to the arrest of five suspects and the recovery of over 1,069 kilograms of skunk, alongside the confiscation of more than 176,000 assorted opioid pills in Delta State.
Commending the officers involved in the multi-state operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), charged operatives nationwide to sustain the momentum against drug syndicates attempting to exploit household items and transit corridors to smuggle narcotics into the country.