The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted a large consignment of Captagon, a dangerous stimulant linked to insurgency and organised crime, in Kwara State, in what authorities described as a major breakthrough against emerging drug trafficking threats.
The agency said its operatives, during a routine patrol along Bode Saadu Road on April 21, 2026, stopped a passenger vehicle and discovered 10,000 pills of the illicit substance on a 33-year-old suspect, Nasiru Mu’azu.
According to a statement on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, officers also recovered nine packets of Tapentadol, a potent opioid, from the suspect.
Captagon, widely abused in parts of the Middle East, is known to induce extreme alertness, suppress fear and heighten aggression—properties that have made it popular among militant groups. Its trafficking has been linked to organised criminal networks and extremist organisations, raising fresh concerns over its infiltration into Nigeria.
In a related operation on April 24 at the same checkpoint, NDLEA operatives intercepted a trailer fitted with a hidden compartment loaded with illicit pharmaceuticals. Recovered items included 155,900 capsules of tramadol, 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injection, 3,000 tablets of co-codamol and 9,000 tablets of bromazepam. A 24-year-old suspect, Aminu Isah, was arrested.
Meanwhile, in Oyo State, the agency apprehended a suspected drug courier, Eze Prince Emeka, along the Ibadan-Oyo Expressway. The suspect, who had ingested illicit drugs, excreted 45 pellets of cocaine weighing over one kilogram under observation.
Investigations revealed that the suspect was attempting to smuggle the drugs to Europe through trans-Saharan routes, using Algeria as a transit point.
The anti-narcotics agency also recorded multiple seizures across the country. In Edo State, two suspects were arrested with over 1.1 million pills of pharmaceutical opioids concealed in a truck bound for Onitsha.
In Lagos, operatives seized 810 kilograms of a cannabis strain known as “Arizona,” while in Bauchi State, a suspect was caught with 154.5 kilograms of skunk.
Similarly, in Ekiti State, officers recovered 466.8 kilograms of skunk from a residential building, while a joint operation with the military in Cross River State led to the destruction of 20,000 kilograms of cannabis cultivated on eight hectares of farmland.
In a separate development, NDLEA operatives in Niger State intercepted a suspect conveying 394 components used in the fabrication of improvised explosive devices. The suspect and exhibits were subsequently handed over to relevant security authorities.
Commending officers for the coordinated operations, the NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the seizure of Captagon as a critical disruption of efforts to establish a new drug pipeline into Nigeria.
He said, “We are not just seizing drugs; we are cutting off the resources that fuel violence and criminality in our society.”
Marwa added that the agency would sustain its offensive against drug trafficking networks, stressing that a combination of supply reduction and public sensitisation remained key to tackling the menace nationwide.
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