National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has uncovered a series of sophisticated drug trafficking attempts involving opioids, cannabis, and methamphetamine concealed in everyday items at Murtala Muhammed International Airport and a courier facility in Lagos, as part of a nationwide crackdown on narcotics distribution.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, operatives intercepted multiple consignments hidden inside body cream containers, winter jackets, and carton walls, exposing increasingly sophisticated smuggling tactics used by traffickers.
At the Lagos airport, two suspects travelling to Italy were arrested in separate operations.
One of them, Friday Ehianuka, was stopped while attempting to board a flight to Rome with thousands of tramadol tablets concealed inside containers of skin-lightening cream.
During interrogation, he reportedly admitted that he had been promised payment in euros if the consignment reached its destination, highlighting the financial incentives driving international drug trafficking networks.
In a separate interception days earlier, another suspect, Christian Agbonhese, was arrested while preparing to travel to Milan.
A search of his luggage uncovered more than 28,000 pills of tramadol and tapentadol hidden inside winter jackets.
At a Lagos courier company, NDLEA officers also intercepted a parcel from the United States containing “Loud,” a highly potent strain of cannabis.
In the same operation, officials foiled an attempt to ship methamphetamine concealed within carton walls to New Zealand.
Beyond Lagos, enforcement operations recorded major seizures across several states.
In Kano State, two suspects were arrested with nearly 200 kilograms of skunk, while in Lagos, operatives raided a storage facility in Ijora and recovered more than 21,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
Two additional suspects were later arrested on Third Mainland Bridge while transporting thousands more bottles.
In Edo State, officers discovered nearly 100 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a residential building.
In Abuja, a commercial bus was intercepted along the Gwagwalada expressway with more than 91,000 tramadol pills hidden inside its body panels, leading to the arrest of the driver.
The pattern continued in Oyo State, Kaduna State, and Taraba State, where further arrests and seizures exposed the scale of the illicit trade.
One of the largest recoveries was made along the Kaduna-Zaria highway, where NDLEA operatives intercepted more than half a million tramadol and other opioid pills.
In Taraba, another suspect was arrested while transporting tens of thousands of tramadol capsules.
In Adamawa State, a coordinated intelligence-led operation resulted in the arrest of six suspects linked to an 82.8kg tramadol consignment previously discovered in a truck in Yola.
Alongside enforcement, the agency says it is intensifying public sensitisation through its War Against Drug Abuse campaign, targeting schools, teachers, and communities across the country.
NDLEA Chairman Mohammed Buba Marwa commended officers involved in the operations and stressed the need to sustain both aggressive enforcement and public education in tackling drug abuse and trafficking nationwide.
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