The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted more than 1.3 million pills and capsules of tramadol and other opioids, as well as about 6,000 kilogrammes of cannabis, in operations across seven states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with the seizures valued at more than N3.4 billion.
NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday, September 20, 2026. The operations covered Lagos, Edo, Niger, Delta, Ondo, Gombe and Imo states, as well as the FCT.
One of the major seizures was made at the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos, where operatives intercepted 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 603.75kg and valued at N1.811 billion.
Babafemi said the consignment arrived from Montreal, Canada, on Saturday, September 12, 2026, and was subjected to a joint physical examination by the NDLEA, Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. The drugs were concealed in 31 black jumbo bags loaded inside two Toyota Sienna vehicles packed into a 40-foot container.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives arrested 49-year-old Innocent Ekpe on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba with 292.48kg of skunk concealed in a silver Toyota Sienna bus.
According to Babafemi, Ekpe allegedly impersonated a Deputy Superintendent of Police and used a forged police identification card to evade scrutiny at checkpoints. His alleged accomplice, 39-year-old Nduka Joseph, was also arrested.
In Edo State, operatives raided an auto-repair workshop on Agbor Road, Benin City, where they arrested 45-year-old Matthew Ossai. The agency said 48kg of Canadian Loud and 152 grammes of methamphetamine were recovered from the workshop, which it alleged was being used as a storage facility for illicit drugs.
In Niger State, two separate operations led to more arrests and drug recoveries. Two suspects arrested along the Abaji-Abuja Highway on Friday, September 18, 2026, were found with more than 1.1 million assorted tramadol tablets and capsules, codeine syrup, methamphetamine and Exol tablets concealed in eight sacks.
Three other suspects arrested along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, were allegedly found with two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles, a locally made pistol, magazines and nine rounds of 9mm ammunition.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 48,900 tablets of tramadol 225mg from a suspect in Aguda, Surulere, while another 59kg of cannabis was intercepted at a logistics company. The agency also recovered 998.38kg of nitrous oxide gas in a separate operation.
In Gombe, 154,480 tramadol capsules were recovered from two suspects, while an NDLEA operation in Imo State led to the seizure of 43.85kg of skunk.
In Ondo State, four suspects were arrested during the raid and destruction of a two-hectare cannabis farm at Ita-Ogbolu Forest. The agency said 5,000kg of skunk was destroyed, while another 48kg of dried and fresh cannabis was recovered for prosecution.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers involved and urged them to sustain the agency’s intelligence-driven operations and its approach to drug control.
The NDLEA said its commands also continued sensitisation activities under its War Against Drug Abuse programme in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
