NDLEA Seizes N6.2bn Drugs at Lagos Airport in Major Anti-Narcotics Operation

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized substantial quantities of illicit drugs, including captagon—often referred to as the "Jihadi drug"—and opioids with an estimated street value exceeding N6.2 billion at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos. The busts, which included multiple operations across Lagos, Rivers, Ondo, and Delta states, underscore the agency’s intensified efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks operating within and through Nigeria.

On August 22, 2026, NDLEA operatives at MMIA arrested Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, a 49-year-old cross-border drug kingpin, upon his arrival from Accra, Ghana, via African World Airlines. A search of the carton of Ghana soap in his possession led to the recovery of 47,200 captagon pills valued at over N1.5 billion. NDLEA reported that Akinbile claimed the consignment was intended for delivery in northern Nigeria.

In a separate operation, NDLEA intercepted four abandoned consignments at the airport’s import shed on August 28. These included 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 2,787.40kg and estimated at over N4.6 billion in street value. Three consignments, containing 900,000 Tramaking tablets weighing 815.40kg, had arrived on RwandAir flights from Bangladesh. The fourth consignment, with 3,000,030 Tapentadol tablets weighing 1,972kg, was transported via Qatar Airways from Amsterdam. No claimants came forward, prompting the joint retrieval by NDLEA, Nigeria Customs Service, and other agencies.

Also on August 19, a 31-year-old returnee from the United States, Sowunmi David Oludotun, was arrested in Ikate, Lekki, Lagos, after allegedly attempting to collect 3.350kg of Loud—a synthetic cannabis strain imported from the United Kingdom.

In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided a location in Port Harcourt’s Abuja Down/Up area on August 25, recovering 237g of Colorado cannabis, 316g of cocaine, and 10g of heroin from a fireproof safe that required a welding machine to open.

In Ondo State, three individuals—Oyedele Daniel, 42, Taye Saliu, 36, and Kehinde Saliu, 36—were arrested on August 28 along the Ipele-Idoani Road with 728kg of skunk concealed in a truck. Two others, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were apprehended at Aponmu Forest on August 26 with 341kg of the same substance.

In Delta State, NDLEA conducted two operations between August 26 and 28, seizing over 176,000 pills of assorted opioids, including tramadol and Molly.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended operatives at MMIA, Ondo, and Delta Commands for their efforts. He warned that drug traffickers are increasingly using creative methods, including concealment in everyday items like soap, to smuggle illicit substances. Marwa urged sustained vigilance and vigilant enforcement across all commands.

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