The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs concealed in machine cylinders, auto parts and other containers, dismantling at least six drug syndicates and arresting nine suspected kingpins in nationwide operations.
Spokesperson of the agency, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, noting that the seizures followed a series of intelligence-led raids across multiple states.
According to the statement, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, 18 November 2025, arrested two members of a drug trafficking network in Onitsha, Anambra State, after they attempted to collect packages containing 5.40kg of methamphetamine, 10.70kg of Loud, 16g of cocaine, 200g of phenacetin, 200g of methcathinone, and 100g of caffeine. The substances had been concealed inside pressure machine cylinders imported from South Africa.
The suspects — 30-year-old trader, Ebulue Lotanwa Uzochukwu, and 51-year-old South Africa returnee, Christopher Michael Ndibuisi — were arrested during a follow-up sting after the packages, shipped on 13 November through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, were intercepted by officers.
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA officers on Thursday, 20 November, also intercepted 2.30kg of cocaine hidden inside a brake servo auto part destined for Gabon. A freight agent, Ameh Solomon, was arrested, while further investigation led to the arrest of an auto parts dealer, Nwafor Tochukwu Boniface, at the ASPMDA market in the Trade Fair Complex, Lagos.
A couple, Onun Okoi Okpotum (55) and Itam Okoi Okpotum (52), was arrested in Ugep, Cross River State, on Wednesday, 19 November, after officers raided their warehouse and recovered 362 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 4,706kg.
In Edo State, two women — Praise Nwogu (19) and Ebong Emem Oghosa (25) — were arrested in Benin City for producing and selling drug-laced brownies. Additional raids in Ososo, Akoko Edo LGA, resulted in the arrest of 35-year-old Shedrack Aminu, found with 59kg of skunk.
Along the Enugu–Onitsha expressway, officers on Wednesday, 19 November, arrested 24-year-old Chinoso Emmanuel Monday with 10.1kg of skunk, 105,600 tramadol pills, 700 pentazocine ampoules, and 3,000 rounds of live ammunition.
In Kebbi State, NDLEA evacuated 13,155 bottles of codeine syrup from a warehouse in Dole-Kaina, Dandi LGA, and arrested 23-year-old Umar Adamu, who was caught transporting 12,548 opioid pills disguised as paracetamol tablets to a Boko Haram enclave in Borno.
Further operations across Abuja, Niger, and Lagos led to multiple arrests and seizures, including 430.5kg of drugs on the Abaji–Abuja expressway; over 85,000 opioid pills and 5,456 bottles of codeine syrup in Tafa LGA, Niger; 71kg of Canadian Loud in Lekki; and 2.6kg of Colorado hidden in branded containers.
A joint NDLEA–military operation on Lagos Island on Monday, 17 November, recovered 385kg of various illicit drugs from the notorious Peti drug enclave, while another raid in Maza Maza, Lagos, yielded 163,200 tramadol capsules.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the officers involved and said the intensified crackdown was necessary ahead of the festive season, a period he described as vulnerable to heightened criminal drug activities.
“We must not, and we will not, let down our guard,” Marwa said, urging sustained vigilance across all commands.