The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted illicit drugs worth more than N10 billion at Lagos ports and arrested several suspected drug traffickers, including alleged kingpins linked to international drug syndicates.
According to the NDLEA, 55-year-old businessman, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, a clothing trader at Balogun Market, Lagos Island, has been arrested after attempting to export 3.30 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside the walls of cartons containing food items destined for the United Kingdom.
Chinedu was arrested on Thursday, July 23, 2026, after operatives intercepted the cocaine consignment at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, a day earlier.
The agency said investigations initially led to the arrest of three cargo agents including Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed, and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim, before another suspect, Kenneth Okakpu, who delivered the shipment, was apprehended.
Further investigation identified Chinedu as the mastermind of the syndicate. He was arrested while attempting to send another cocaine shipment to the UK.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo at her residence in Surulere, Lagos, on Tuesday, July 21, following the seizure of 2.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, which arrived from the United States aboard a United Airlines flight on July 20.
The agency also recovered 2.24 million pills of Tapentadol 250mg, valued at over N2.2 billion, during a joint cargo examination at the Lagos airport on Friday, July 24.
The opioid shipment had arrived from India aboard an Air Maroc flight and was intercepted following intelligence gathered by the agency.
The seizure came shortly after NDLEA operatives intercepted another shipment containing tramadol concealed inside containers of black soap intended for export to the UK through a Lagos courier company.
At the Apapa Seaport, operatives uncovered 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud weighing 2,388.5 kilograms, with an estimated street value of over N7.1 billion. The drugs were concealed inside three vehicles loaded in a shipping container and discovered during a joint examination on July 20.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives in Katsina State arrested Mustapha Sani, 30, during a patrol at Baure in Safana Local Government Area after recovering 323 rounds of military-grade ammunition, comprising 200 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and 123 rounds of 7.6mm ammunition concealed in his possession.
In the same vein, Abubakar Amadu, 30, was arrested during a stop-and-search operation at Jere along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway with 73 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition hidden inside kegs of red oil. The agency said both suspects had been handed over to the appropriate security authorities for further investigation.
In Edo State, NDLEA officers raided a warehouse in Ilushi community, Esan South East Local Government Area, on Sunday, July 19, where they recovered 1,286kg of cannabis and 86kg of cannabis seeds.
Two additional suspects were arrested during related operations. Ojore Onweze, 45, was found with 60kg of skunk, while George Agwumede, 30, was arrested with 13kg of the same substance.