Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intensified efforts to combat drug trafficking across Nigeria, arresting multiple suspects and seizing illicit substances worth billions of naira in a series of coordinated operations.

At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, 42 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 20kg, were intercepted. The drugs were concealed in tins of chocolate, Milo, and kidney beans among cargo arriving on a British Airways flight from Canada. Three suspects, including the receiver of the consignment, Monsurat Ewawunmi Lawson, were arrested between April 30 and May 3, 2025.

Additionally, businessman Bobby Morris Osas was arrested on May 2 while attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Italy. NDLEA operatives found 8,130 pills of tramadol hidden in his luggage.

A separate operation on April 28 thwarted an attempt to ship 104 grammes of tramadol and skunk concealed in body cream bottles to Iraq via a courier company in Lagos.

In Rivers State, a joint operation at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex led to the discovery of two million pills of tramadol and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrup valued at over N3.4 billion.

Similarly, in Lagos, operatives recovered 1.5 million pills of a controlled opioid from a suspect, Olarenwaju Wahab, and traced the consignment to Victoria Garden City, Lekki, where the alleged source, Obinna Kenneth, remains at large.

In Kaduna, NDLEA officers intercepted 942 explosives concealed in a sack during a patrol along the Kaduna-Zaria expressway on May 3. A 30-year-old suspect, Nura Sani Muhammad, was arrested, and the items have been handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.

Other notable operations include the arrest of five suspects in Kano with 21.6kg of skunk and the seizure of 314,020 pills of assorted opioids in Edo State on May 1. In Anambra State, NDLEA intercepted 50,400 capsules of tramadol, among other drugs, at Agu-Awka Junction, resulting in the arrest of suspect Chinedu Eneh.

A major breakthrough came with the arrest of a drug kingpin, Dominic Chiegozie Obijiaku, on April 26 after a 10-month investigation. Obijiaku, the Managing Director of Ovidaq International Ltd, was linked to the importation of over 2.6 million tramadol pills intercepted in July 2024 at Apapa seaport. A follow-up operation at his residence in Lekki led to the seizure of 51 wraps of Canadian Loud.