The NDLEA has intercepted cocaine, Loud and opioids worth over N10 billion, arrested suspected drug kingpins and recovered military-grade ammunition in major operations across Nigeria.
This was contained in a statement by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy.
It said that the NDLEA operatives arrested 55-year-old businessman Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, a Balogun Market clothing trader, for trying to export 3.30kg of cocaine hidden inside the walls of cartons packed with food items bound for the United Kingdom.
According to the statement, NDLEA officers arrested him on Thursday, 23 July 2026, after they intercepted the shipment at the export shed of the Lagos airport on Wednesday, 22 July.
Investigators first arrested three cargo agents—Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim. Their investigation led to Kenneth Okakpu, who delivered the shipment, and later exposed Onuigbo as the alleged kingpin.
Officers arrested him while he tried to send another cocaine consignment to the UK.
NDLEA officers also arrested 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo at her Surulere home on Tuesday, 21 July. The arrest followed the seizure of her 2.80kg consignment of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, which arrived from the United States aboard a United Airlines flight on Monday, 20 July.
NDLEA recovered 2,240,000 pills of Tapentadol 250mg valued at more than N2.2 billion. The shipment arrived from India aboard an Air Maroc flight and officers intercepted it during a joint cargo examination on Friday, 24 July, after receiving intelligence.
Officers also seized a UK-bound consignment of tramadol hidden inside containers of black soap at a courier company in Lagos on Wednesday, 22 July.
At the Apapa seaport, NDLEA uncovered 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud weighing 2,388.5kg and valued at over N7.1 billion.
Smugglers concealed the drugs inside three vehicles packed in a container. Officers discovered the shipment during a joint examination on Monday, 20 July.
However, NDLEA operatives arrested Mustapha Sani, 30, during a patrol at Baure in Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State on Wednesday, 22 July. Officers recovered 323 rounds of military-grade ammunition, including 200 rounds of 7.62mm and 123 rounds of 7.6mm ammunition.
NDLEA officers also arrested Abubakar Amadu, 30, during a stop-and-search operation at Jere along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway. They found 73 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition hidden inside kegs of palm oil. The agency handed both suspects to the relevant security agency for further investigation.
Similarly, NDLEA raided Ilushi community in Esan South East Local Government Area of Edo State on Sunday, 19 July. Officers seized 1,286kg of cannabis and 86kg of cannabis seeds from a warehouse. They also arrested Ojore Onweze, 45, with 60kg of skunk and George Agwumede, 30, with 13kg of the same substance.
The agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign across schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities. Recent sensitisation programmes took place at Government Day Secondary School, Sabon Wuse, Niger State; Government Girls Secondary School, Shekara, Kano State; and Otto Primary School, Ebute Metta, Lagos State.
Following this development, the NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), praised officers of the DOGI, MMIA, Apapa, Edo, Kaduna and Katsina Commands for the successful operations.
He urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control across the country.
External links
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA): https://ndlea.gov.ng/
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC): https://www.unodc.org/
National Crime Agency UK – Drug trafficking: https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/
