The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted illicit drug consignments worth more than N6.2 billion in separate operations across the country, including the seizure of Captagon and millions of opioid tablets at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The agency also arrested several suspects linked to the trafficking of various illicit substances during operations conducted in Lagos, Rivers, Ondo and Delta states.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, a total of 47,200 pills of Captagon, an illicit amphetamine popularly known as the “Jihadi drug”, were seized at the Lagos airport on Saturday, August 22, 2026.
The consignment, valued at more than N1.5 billion, was recovered from a 49-year-old cross-border drug kingpin, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, who arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.
A search of his carton of local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap”, led NDLEA operatives to discover the Captagon pills concealed inside blocks of soap.
Following his arrest, Aikins reportedly told investigators that he was expected to deliver the consignment to a location in Northern Nigeria.
Captagon has earned the nickname “Jihadi drug” because of its reported links to extremist activities and conflict zones. The NDLEA first intercepted the drug in Nigeria in September 2021 at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
NDLEA Recovers 3.9m Opioid Tablets
In a separate operation at the MMIA, NDLEA operatives recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, weighing a combined 2,787.40kg and estimated to be worth more than N4.6 billion.
The drugs were discovered in four abandoned consignments at the airport’s import shed after no one came forward to claim them.
Three of the consignments contained 900,000 tablets of Tramaking, weighing 815.40kg, and arrived aboard RwandAir flights from Bangladesh.
The fourth consignment contained 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol, weighing 1,972kg, and was transported into Nigeria aboard Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.
The consignments had been placed under surveillance after being abandoned before NDLEA officers, Customs officials and other stakeholders conducted a joint examination on Friday, August 28.
US Returnee Arrested in Lagos
Meanwhile, a 31-year-old US returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, was arrested by NDLEA operatives on August 19 in the Ikate area of Lekki, Lagos.
Oludotun was arrested while attempting to take delivery of 3.350kg of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis allegedly imported from the United Kingdom.
Fireproof Safe Reveals Cocaine, Heroin in Rivers
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided a notorious drug location in the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, recovering a fireproof iron safe.
The safe was reportedly opened with a welding machine on Tuesday, August 25, leading to the discovery of 237 grams of Colorado, 316 grams of cocaine and 10 grams of heroin.
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 found with 728kg of skunk concealed in a truck marked KRE 120 XB.
Two other suspects, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were arrested at Aponmu Forest on Wednesday, August 26, with another 341kg of skunk.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives also recovered more than 176,000 assorted opioid pills, including tramadol and molly, during two separate interdiction operations carried out between August 26 and August 28.
NDLEA Intensifies Anti-Drug Campaign
Beyond drug seizures and arrests, NDLEA commands across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The agency conducted enlightenment programmes for students and staff of Markaz Littahfizul Quran Wal Islamiyyat in Dadin Kowa, Gombe State, and Zangina Islamiyyah Alasawa Kurna in Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano State.
NDLEA officials also engaged youths participating in an adolescent lifestyle programme organised by NNPCL in Benin City, Edo State.
The Ondo State Command paid a WADA advocacy visit to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, while the Taraba State Command similarly visited Governor Agbu Kefas.
Commending officers and men of the MMIA, Ondo and Delta Commands for their efforts, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
Marwa directed officers to maintain the pressure on drug traffickers, noting that criminals were increasingly exploring unconventional methods, including concealing illicit substances in everyday household items such as bathing soap.
