Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have seized Tapentadol worth over N2.1 billion from India at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos.
According to available information, the major shipment of illicit drug consignment was recovered at the import shed of the airport.
Following close monitoring of the consignment by NDLEA operatives since its arrival from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight, the 29 large cartons containing 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, worth N2,190,852,000 were eventually handed over to the NDLEA by the Nigeria Customs Service on May 22, 2026.
In another successful interdiction operation, NDLEA operatives at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu on Wednesday 20th May intercepted a suspect, Onyeka Valentine Emeka, during the inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sierra Leone via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
When placed under observation, the suspect excreted a total of 185.36 grams of cocaine.
At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, was on May 21 arrested by NDLEA operatives while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Abuja via Addis Ababa to Milan Malpensa, Italy.
A search conducted on his luggage led to the recovery of 10,280 pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramadol 200mg, and Tapentadol 250mg.
The opioids were concealed using foil paper and hidden inside a carton, in a suitcase, obviously to evade detection.
In yet another operation at a courier company in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 1,174 pills of MDMA (Ecstasy) concealed in bicycle luggage carrier heading to Netherlands, 66 pills of tramadol 225mg hidden in soap container going to the United States, and 18 tablets of tramadol 225mg concealed in body cream container heading to the United Kingdom.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence raided Igwe community in Owan East LGA, where a total of 59 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 489kg and cannabis seeds weighing 9kg were recovered.
While a suspect, Isah Sani, 30, was nabbed with 196,000 pills of exol-5 on May 20 along Zaria/Kano Road, Kano State, NDLEA officers at Seme border, Badagry area of Lagos State recovered 59kg skunk from a warehouse in Mowo, Badagry on May 19.
Another operational success was recorded in Ekiti State, where NDLEA operatives on May 23 raided a warehouse located at N/56, Ikoyi community, Ikole-Ekiti and recovered 1,116 kilograms of skunk, while a 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
With the same zeal, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, work places, and communities among others in the past week.
These included WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Command Day School, Mokola, Ibadan, Oyo State; Girls Secondary School, Amenyi, Anambra State; Matazu Model Primary School, Matazu LGA, Katsina State; C&S Primary School, Majidun, Ikorodu, Lagos State; Alufo High School, Apugo, Enugu State; Aramoko District Commercial Secondary School, Aramoko Ekiti, Ekiti State; and Government Girls Secondary School, Kurna, Kano State.
