•Arrests twins, one other with skunk in Ondo
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted consignments of captagon, popularly known as the “Jihadi drug”, and millions of opioid tablets worth more than N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The captagon shipment was intercepted on Saturday, August 22, 2026, following the arrest of 49-year-old cross-border drug kingpin, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, who arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.
A search of his carton of local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap”, uncovered 47,200 pills of captagon concealed inside blocks of soap. The consignment was valued at over N1.5 billion.
Captagon, an illicit amphetamine-based drug, has been associated with the financing and use of extremist activities in conflict zones.
NDLEA first intercepted the substance in Nigeria in September 2021 at Apapa Port, Lagos.
Following his arrest, Aikins reportedly told investigators that he was expected to deliver the consignment in northern Nigeria.
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA officers recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 2,787.40kg and valued at more than N4.6 billion.
The drugs were recovered from four abandoned consignments at the MMIA import shed.
Three consignments containing 900,000 tablets of Tramaking, weighing 815.40kg, arrived from Bangladesh aboard RwandAir flights, while the fourth, containing 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol weighing 1,972kg, arrived from Amsterdam through Qatar Airways.
The consignments had been placed under surveillance after no importer or recipient appeared to claim them.
They were formally retrieved following a joint examination by NDLEA officers, Customs officials and other stakeholders on Friday, August 28.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives on August 19 arrested a 31-year-old US returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, at Ikate, Lekki, Lagos, while attempting to take delivery of 3.350kg of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided the notorious Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, where they recovered a fireproof iron safe among other items.
The safe was later forced open with a welding machine on Tuesday, August 25, leading to the recovery of 237 grammes of Colorado, 316 grammes of cocaine and 10 grammes of heroin.
In Ondo State, three suspects — Oyedele Daniel, 42; Taye Saliu, 36; and Kehinde Saliu, 36 — were arrested on Friday, August 28, along the Ipele-Idoani road with 728kg of skunk concealed in their truck marked KRE 120 XB.
Two other suspects, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were also arrested at Aponmu forest on Wednesday, August 26, with another 341kg of skunk.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives recovered more than 176,000 tablets of assorted opioids, including tramadol and molly, during two interdiction operations conducted between August 26 and 28.
Beyond seizures and arrests, NDLEA commands and formations across the country also intensified their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The campaigns included enlightenment lectures at Markaz Littahfizul Quran Wal Islamiyyat, Dadin Kowa, Gombe; Zangina Islamiyyah Alasawa Kurna in Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano State; and an adolescent lifestyle programme organised by the NNPCL in Benin City, Edo State.
The Ondo State Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the state governor, Dr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, while the Taraba Command visited Governor Dr Agbu Kefas on a similar advocacy mission.
Commending the officers and men of the MMIA, Ondo and Delta Commands for the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged personnel across the country to sustain the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
Marwa further directed officers to maintain the momentum against traffickers who continue to devise new methods of concealing illicit drugs, including hiding consignments in everyday household items such as bathing soap.
