Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, along with three Nigerian accomplices identified as Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode, and Bakare Korede Muheeb, in connection with the seizure of 2,248,000 pills of Tramadol 200mg and 225mg.
The illicit drugs were intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
According to NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the Tramadol shipment, valued at N3.99 billion on the streets, was imported from Delhi, India.
The consignment, disguised as multivitamins, was packed in 114 cartons and arrived at the import shed of Lagos airport aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Monday, 8th September 2025.
A team of NDLEA officers had placed the consignment under surveillance before swooping on a clearing agent and two drivers attempting to move the drugs out of the airport in two trucks on Thursday, 11th September.
A follow-up operation the next day led to the arrest of the Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, when he came to take delivery of the consignment.
At the Terminal 2 departure gate of the airport on Sunday, 7th September, NDLEA operatives also intercepted a passenger, Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi, who was travelling on a Qatar Airways flight to Doha.
A search of his bag uncovered 900 grams of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, concealed in crayfish.
Onyeganochi, a first-time traveller, claimed the bag had been given to him by a Qatar-based Nigerian, Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna, who accompanied him to the airport.
His confession led to Uchenna’s arrest, and a search of his hotel room in Ajao Estate uncovered an additional 200 grams of the same substance. Uchenna admitted he was supposed to return to Doha later to retrieve the bag if Onyeganochi had succeeded in evading security checks.
At the Tincan Port in Lagos, NDLEA officers recovered 161 parcels of Canadian Loud, weighing 81.7kg, and 1.2kg of hashish oil concealed in a 40ft container of vehicle spare parts and used cars imported from Montreal, Canada. The seizure, made during a joint examination on Tuesday, 9th September, resulted in the arrest of John Ochigbo, aged 53, and Okeke Kingsley, aged 26.
Another shipment of 65kg of Canadian Loud was tracked from the port to the Third Mainland Bridge, where NDLEA operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna conveying the consignment and arrested the driver, Abubakar Ibrahim, aged 42, on Thursday, 11th September.
Two separate drug shipments concealed in courier parcels were also seized in Lagos. Six grams of methamphetamine hidden in a picture frame were intercepted en route to Gabon, while 1.1kg of Loud concealed in video players was seized on its way to the United Arab Emirates.
In Ikorodu, Lagos, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence raided a factory producing “skuchies,” a mixture of cannabis and blackcurrant drink, on Thursday, 11th September. They recovered 6,029 bottles of the drink and 4,232kg of cannabis, arresting the factory manager, Joy Awosika. Another suspect, Akeem Oriola, was arrested the same day in Mushin with 26kg of skunk.
In Abuja, a stop-and-search operation in Utako led to the arrest of a dispatch rider, Godsplan Vincent, aged 29, with 50.7 grams of cocaine and 66 grams of Loud. In Oyo State, three women identified as Faidat Azeez, aged 25, Alanu Fatimoh, aged 40, and Mojeed Taiwo, aged 25, were arrested with 17kg of skunk in Lagbondoko and Akitan areas of Oyo Town.
In Kano, NDLEA officers seized 100,000 pills of Tramadol 200mg and 225mg from Musa Shuaibu, aged 38, at Gadar Tamburawa along the Zaria–Kano road on Monday, 8th September. In separate operations, officers recovered 196 litres of Akuskura from Abubakar Adamu, aged 35, in Na’ibawa, and 34.1kg of skunk, 493 tubes of rubber solution, and 25 litres of “suck and die” from Basiru Umar, aged 18, in Kumbotso Local Government Area.
In Anambra, a couple, Nzube Onyedika, aged 41, and Ebele Onyedika, aged 42, were arrested in Obosi with 13.9kg of methamphetamine and 5.3kg of skunk. Another suspect, Nnamchi Tochukwu, aged 36, was found with quantities of meth, tramadol, swinol, heroin, and skunk.
In Yobe State, Mohammed Auwal was arrested after NDLEA recovered 22.1kg of cannabis from his residence in Potiskum.
In Ogun State, NDLEA operatives working with police and local vigilantes arrested three trans-border traffickers identified as Kunyadi Kunle Ogbungbun, aged 24, Olalekan Adewale, aged 20, and Sanya Joshua, aged 22, with 394kg of skunk in Imeko on Sunday, 7th September. Three motorcycles used to transport the drugs were also seized.
In Edo State, NDLEA destroyed 16,966.6kg of cannabis on a plantation measuring 6.8 hectares at Ugbogyi Forest, Ovia South West Local Government Area.
Officers also recovered 1,176kg of processed cannabis from the site and arrested four suspects identified as Ebenezer Ewang, Oshore John, Emmanuel Monday, and David Sunday.
Across the country, NDLEA commands continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, motor parks, mosques, and communities.
The Chairman and Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers across the various commands for their efforts and urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
