Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered a major drug trafficking operation involving cocaine concealed in imported dry stock fish, alongside multiple seizures of hard drugs across the country.
The agency’s director of media, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday stated that the breakthrough came after intelligence reports exposed a transnational drug syndicate engaged in trafficking illicit substances to destinations including India.
Acting on this, NDLEA officers attached to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) strategic command carried out a targeted operation in the Ojo area of Lagos on March 19, 2026.
During the raid, a suspected kingpin, 36-year-old Akputa Dickson Ejike, was arrested with three large bags. A search revealed 237 wraps of cocaine ingeniously concealed inside the heads of imported dry fish, popularly known as “Okporoko.” The seized drugs weighed 5.80 kilograms and were reportedly destined for Delhi, India.
In a related operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted two separate consignments bound for the United Kingdom at a Lagos-based courier facility on March 25. The shipments included 1.9 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in automobile filters, as well as 40 ampoules of morphine sulphate and nine ampoules of fentanyl.
Further enforcement actions led to the arrest of a suspected drug syndicate leader, Omolade Abigail Jolayemi, popularly known as “Iya Ghana,” at her residence in Yaba, Lagos.
She was apprehended alongside an associate, Sarah Zainab Agbabiaka. Officers recovered 135 blocks of “Ghana Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 76.30 kilograms. Authorities say Jolayemi operated a cross-border drug distribution network between Nigeria and Ghana under the cover of a legitimate textile business.
On the same day, another suspect, Anayo Lucky Ohabiro, was arrested in Surulere, Lagos, with 78 blocks of cannabis weighing 41 kilograms.
Outside Lagos, NDLEA operations extended to several states. In Ekiti state, an 80-year-old man, Oke Samuel, was arrested with 2.2 kilograms of skunk and a small quantity of methamphetamine during a raid in Efon-Alaaye. In nearby Ondo state, officers recovered 894.72 kilograms of cannabis from a suspect following a raid on an uncompleted building in Akure North.
Other seizures included 116.7 kilograms of cannabis in Benue state, 576.5 kilograms of cannabis and 33 bottles of codeine syrup in Edo state, and 135 kilograms of compressed cannabis intercepted in Taraba state. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the Taraba seizure.
