The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, and three Nigerian accomplices over the importation of 2,248,000 pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg valued at N3.99 billion. The pills, disguised as multivitamins, were seized at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The suspects—Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode, and Bakare Korede Muheeb—were picked up after NDLEA operatives, who had placed the consignment under surveillance, intercepted it on Thursday, September 11, 2025, as a clearing agent and two drivers attempted to move the drugs in two trucks. A follow-up operation on Friday led to the arrest of Kumar, who came to take delivery of the consignment.
The shipment had arrived on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Delhi, India, on Monday, September 8, concealed in 114 cartons.
At MMIA Terminal 2, NDLEA officers arrested Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi on Sunday, September 7, while he attempted to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. A search of his luggage revealed 900 grams of skunk, concealed in crayfish. He confessed the bag was given to him by a Qatar-based Nigerian, Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna, who was also arrested at the airport. A search of Uchenna’s hotel room at Ajao Estate uncovered an additional 200 grams of cannabis.
At Tincan Port, Lagos, operatives seized 161 parcels of Canadian Loud cannabis (81.7kg) and 1.2kg of hashish oil concealed in a 40ft container of vehicle spare parts from Montreal, Canada. Two suspects, John Ochigbo (53) and Okeke Kingsley (26), were arrested. Another 65kg shipment of Canadian Loud was tracked to the Third Mainland Bridge, where NDLEA officers intercepted it inside a Toyota Sienna and arrested the driver, Abubakar Ibrahim (42).
Also in Lagos, two separate courier shipments were intercepted: six grams of methamphetamine concealed in a picture frame destined for Gabon, and 1.1kg of Loud cannabis hidden in decoder machines bound for the United Arab Emirates.
In Ikorodu, Lagos, NDLEA operatives raided a factory producing skuchies—a cocktail of cannabis and black currant drink—on Thursday, September 11. The raid led to the recovery of 6,029 bottles of the substance and 4,232kg of cannabis. The factory manager, Joy Awosika, was arrested. In a related operation in Mushin, Akeem Oriola was arrested with 26kg of skunk.
In Abuja, a dispatch rider, Godsplan Vincent (29), was arrested at Utako during a stop-and-search with 50.7g of cocaine and 66g of Loud.
In Oyo State, three women—Faidat Azeez (25), Alanu Fatimoh (40), and Mojeed Taiwo (25)—were arrested in Lagbondoko and Akitan with 17kg of skunk.
In Kano State, operatives seized 100,000 pills of tramadol from Musa Shuaibu (38) at Gadar Tamburawa on September 8. They also recovered 196 litres of Akuskura, a psychoactive drink, from Abubakar Adamu (35) at Na’ibawa; and 34.1kg skunk, 493 tubes of rubber solution, and 25 litres of “suck and die” from Basiru Umar (18) in Wailari, Kumbotso LGA.
In Anambra State, a couple, Nzube and Ebele Onyedika, were arrested in Obosi with 13.9kg methamphetamine and 5.3kg skunk. Another suspect, Nnamchi Tochukwu (36), was caught with various quantities of meth, tramadol, swinol, heroin, and skunk.
In Yobe State, NDLEA officers arrested Mohammed Auwal with 36 blocks of cannabis (22.1kg) in Gadan Talakawa, Potiskum. Similarly, in Ogun State, three traffickers—Kunyadi Kunle Ogbungbun (24), Olalekan Adewale (20), and Sanya Joshua (22)—were nabbed with 394kg of skunk during a joint operation with police and vigilantes in Imeko. Three motorcycles used for transporting the drugs were also seized.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives destroyed 16,966.633kg of skunk on a 6.7-hectare cannabis farm at Ugbogyi Forest, Ovia South West LGA, and seized an additional 1,176kg of processed cannabis. Four suspects—Ebenezer Ewang, Oshore John, Emmanuel Monday, and David Sunday—were arrested.
Beyond arrests and seizures, NDLEA commands nationwide continued War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns during the week. Outreach efforts were held in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and motor parks, including Onitsha South Motor Park (Enugu), Otu Central Mosque (Oyo), Salamah International School (Katsina), Wawa Central Mosque (Niger), and an advocacy visit to the Osile Oke-Ona Egba, Oba Adedapo Tejuosho (Ogun State).
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers of MMIA, DOGI, Tincan, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Kano, FCT, Anambra, Yobe, and Ogun Commands for their commitment. He urged them to sustain the balanced approach in tackling drug control through enforcement and advocacy.
