NDLEA Seizes Jihadi Drug, Opioids Worth ₦6.2 Billion At Lagos Airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a consignment of Captagon, popularly described as a “Jihadi drug”, and millions of opioid tablets with a combined street value of more than ₦6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The seizures were recorded during separate operations carried out by NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport and other locations across the country.

The agency said a 49-year-old suspected cross-border drug kingpin, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, was arrested on Saturday, August 22, 2026, shortly after arriving in Lagos from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.

NDLEA operatives reportedly became suspicious of the carton of locally produced bathing soap, commonly known as “Ghana Soap”, in his possession.

A search of the soap allegedly led to the discovery of 47,200 Captagon pills concealed inside the blocks.

The illicit amphetamine, valued at more than ₦1.5 billion, is notorious for its association with armed extremist groups and has consequently earned the nickname “Jihadi drug”.

The agency said it first intercepted Captagon in Nigeria in September 2021, when NDLEA operatives seized a consignment at the Apapa Port in Lagos.

Following his arrest, Aikins reportedly told investigators that he was expected to deliver the consignment in northern Nigeria.

In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA officers recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg from four abandoned consignments.

The drugs, weighing 2,787.40kg, were estimated to have a street value of more than ₦4.6 billion.

According to the agency, three of the consignments contained 900,000 tablets of Tramaking weighing 815.40kg. The shipments reportedly arrived on RwandAir flights from Bangladesh.

The fourth consignment contained 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol weighing 1,972kg and was brought into the country aboard Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.

The NDLEA said the consignments had been kept under surveillance after no importer or recipient appeared to claim them.

They were eventually retrieved on Friday, August 28, following a joint examination involving NDLEA officials, the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant stakeholders.

The anti-narcotics agency also arrested a 31-year-old man, Sowunmi David Oludotun, in the Ikate area of Lekki, Lagos.

Oludotun, who had reportedly returned from the United States, was arrested on August 19 while allegedly attempting to collect 3.350kg of Loud, a potent synthetic variety of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.

In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided a suspected drug den in the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt.

During the operation, the officers recovered a fireproof iron safe which was subsequently forced open with a welding machine on Tuesday, August 25.

The agency said the operation yielded 237 grammes of Colorado cannabis, 316 grammes of cocaine and 10 grammes of heroin.

NDLEA operatives also intercepted more than one tonne of cannabis in separate operations in Ondo State.

Three suspects, Oyedele Daniel, 42; Taye Saliu, 36; and Kehinde Saliu, 36, were arrested on Friday, August 28, along the Ipele-Idoani Road.

The suspects were allegedly transporting 728kg of skunk in a truck with registration number KRE 120 XB.

Two other suspects, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were arrested at Aponmu Forest on Wednesday, August 26.

The officers reportedly recovered another 341kg of skunk from the location.

In Delta State, the agency said more than 176,000 assorted opioid pills, including tramadol and molly, were recovered during two separate interdiction operations conducted between Wednesday, August 26 and Friday, August 28.

The seizures formed part of the agency’s continued nationwide operations targeting the trafficking and distribution of illicit drugs.

Beyond arrests and seizures, the agency said its various commands and formations continued with its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign during the week.

The campaign reached schools, religious centres, workplaces, and communities in several states.

Among the engagements were enlightenment programmes at Markaz Littahfizul Quran Wal Islamiyyat in Dadin Kowa, Gombe State, and Zangina Islamiyyah Alasawa Kurna in Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano State.

The agency also sensitised youths participating in an adolescent lifestyle programme organised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in Benin City, Edo State.

In addition, the Ondo State Command paid a WADA advocacy visit to the state governor, Dr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, while the Taraba Command held a similar engagement with Governor Agbu Kefas.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers involved in the operations in Lagos, Ondo and Delta states.

Marwa urged personnel across the country to maintain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, combining enforcement operations with prevention, advocacy and public enlightenment.

He also directed the officers to sustain pressure on traffickers who continue to devise new methods of concealing illicit drugs.

The NDLEA boss particularly warned against attempts to exploit ordinary household products as cover for transporting narcotics.

He urged personnel to “continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency” and maintain the momentum against traffickers determined to circumvent law enforcement.