NDLEA Foils Drug Smuggling To Europe, Seizes Massive Opioids Nationwide
By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have thwarted multiple attempts by drug trafficking organisations to smuggle methamphetamine and opioids to Europe, intercepting consignments concealed in body cream containers, winter jackets, and carton walls at Lagos airport and a courier facility.
According to the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, two Italy-bound traffickers were arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja. One suspect, Friday Ehianuka, was intercepted on March 20 while boarding an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome with 2,698 tramadol pills hidden in skin cream containers.
Another suspect, Christian Agbonhese, was earlier nabbed on March 18 with 28,470 opioid pills concealed in winter jackets while attempting to board a Lufthansa flight to Milan.
At a Lagos courier firm, NDLEA officers also seized 1kg of “Loud” cannabis shipped from the United States and foiled an attempt to export 158 grams of methamphetamine to New Zealand, hidden within carton walls.
Across the country, a string of coordinated operations led to major seizures and arrests. In Kano, two suspects were caught with a combined 198kg of skunk, while in Lagos, operatives recovered over 21,000 bottles of codeine syrup from a store in Ijora and intercepted another 8,380 bottles in transit on the Third Mainland Bridge.
In Abuja, NDLEA officers stopped a commercial bus along the Gwagwalada expressway, uncovering 91,840 tramadol pills concealed in body compartments, while similar busts in Kaduna and Taraba led to the seizure of hundreds of thousands of opioid pills bound for distribution.
Other operations in Edo, Oyo, and Adamawa states resulted in additional large-scale drug recoveries and multiple arrests, including six suspects linked to an 82.8kg tramadol consignment in Yola.
The NDLEA said its nationwide crackdown was complemented by ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools and communities, as Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers and urged sustained momentum in both enforcement and prevention efforts.
