The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its operations against drug trafficking in Nigeria, leading to the arrests of several individuals involved in this illegal trade. Most notably, two businessmen, Ihejirika Emmanuel and Iwuagwu Victory, were captured under suspicious circumstances linked to drug trafficking activities. Ihejirika, frequently traveling to Thailand under the guise of importing fish, was apprehended at Murtala Muhammed International Airport on October 15, 2024, while attempting to board a flight to Thailand via Addis Ababa. Upon undergoing a body scan, officials detected that he had ingested cocaine, ultimately expelling five large wraps weighing 400 grams during a period of excretion observation. This 51-year-old suspect later confessed to being promised payment upon successful delivery of the drugs to Thailand, suggesting a significant financial motivation behind his actions.
Iwuagwu Victory, also implicated in drug trafficking, was arrested upon arriving in Lagos from Brazil via Addis Ababa. Like Ihejirika, a body scan revealed that he had ingested cocaine, leading to the excretion of a single pellet weighing 22 grams. Victory indicated that he had originally ingested 30 wraps in Brazil but had passed on 29 pellets to someone else in Addis Ababa. His expected payment for smuggling the drug was ₦2.5 million, illustrating the high stakes involved in drug trafficking networks. These two separate incidents underline the grim realities of drug smuggling, where individuals are lured by the prospects of quick monetary gain at significant personal risk.
Furthermore, the NDLEA apprehended a Nigerian-Canadian nurse, Usman Grace Khadijat Olami, on October 4. Upon arrival from Toronto via Paris, NDLEA officers discovered 70 parcels of “Canadian Loud,” a potent synthetic cannabis, in her luggage after a thorough search. Olami claimed her trip to Nigeria was to visit her boyfriend, who instructed her to transport this large consignment. Her arrest reflects the growing trend of individuals from various backgrounds becoming embroiled in drug-related offenses, pointing to a larger issue encompassing both local and international drug trafficking dynamics.
In a broader sweep at Nigerian seaports, the NDLEA made substantial drug seizures on October 15. A joint examination with the Customs Service led to the interception of 162,351 bottles of codeine-based syrup from two containers at the Apapa seaport in Lagos. Additionally, a watch-listed container arriving from India contained around 7.2 million pills of Royal 225 mg Tapentadol and Carisoprodol, valued at ₦3.6 billion, alongside 780 cartons of chlorphenamine containing over 15.6 million opioid pills. Another search at the Port Harcourt Port Complex revealed significant quantities of codeine syrup from additional containers. The total value of all seized drugs across the two seaports reached an astounding ₦7.1 billion, exposing the scale of drug trafficking operations that threaten public health and safety.
The NDLEA’s proactive efforts did not stop at air and sea checkpoints; ground operations across the country continued to yield results. In Bauchi State, an individual named Sunday Ogenyi was detained for possessing 76,600 tramadol pills hidden within false compartments of his vehicle. Meanwhile, operatives in Ondo State apprehended three individuals—Goddey Obizuo, Samuel Aniete, and Kuffrey Aniete—after seizing 672 kg of cannabis sativa. In a separate operation in Edo State, authorities destroyed over 10,590 kg of cannabis cultivated on illegal farmland, arresting two suspects in the process.
Recent arrests in Lagos demonstrated the scope of NDLEA’s commitment to combat drugs, with operatives seizing 3 kg of methamphetamine and 1.90 kg of cannabis along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, and an additional 241 kg of methamphetamine identified in the Gbaji, Badagry area of the state. A suspected methamphetamine manufacturer, Agbeiboh Oscar, was arrested in Abule Osun with significant quantities of precursor chemicals required for producing methamphetamine. Collectively, these operations reflect NDLEA’s determination to disrupt drug trafficking networks and enforce the law, sending a clear message about the agency’s resolve to tackle the drug crisis facing Nigeria.
