After months of careful intelligence gathering and surveillance, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled two significant cross-border drug trafficking syndicates. The operations resulted in the seizure of cocaine and opioids worth billions of naira and the arrest of six key members of the syndicates in various locations across Nigeria.
The syndicates, with members from Mubi in Adamawa, Onitsha in Anambra, Lagos, and Cameroon, were suspected of supplying drugs to terror groups in Nigeria and Cameroon. Among those arrested were Ibrahim Bawuro, Najib Ibrahim, Ibrahim Umar, Nelson Udechukwu Anayo, Ezeh Amaechi Martin, and Adejumo Elijah Ishola. According to intelligence, psychoactive drugs, including tramadol, were sourced from Anayo in Onitsha, repackaged, and transported to northern Nigeria and Cameroon in vehicles with hidden compartments.
On October 8, 2024, operatives tracked Bawuro and Najib from Onitsha to Taraba, recovering 276,500 tramadol pills from their abandoned car along the Jalingo-Yola expressway. Follow-up raids in Delta and Anambra led to the arrest of Anayo and Martin, with support from NDLEA’s Directorate of Intelligence and operatives in multiple states.
In another breakthrough, Adejumo Ishola, 37, was apprehended on November 5 at the Seme border in Lagos with 3.3 kg of cocaine and 600 grams of synthetic cannabis, following months of monitoring his cross-border activities.
Major seizures in multiple locations
On November 6, NDLEA operatives at Apapa port intercepted a shipment containing 31.75 million pills of the controlled opioid Voltron, imported from India and mislabeled as diclofenac sodium. The discovery was made during a joint examination with Customs and other security agencies.
At Murtala Muhammed International Airport, NDLEA officers intercepted 700 grams of “Loud” cannabis in a shipment collected by software engineer Olu Marshal, whose subsequent home search revealed additional drug paraphernalia. Another suspect, Orji Ogbonna Nnaorji, was intercepted attempting to send codeine syrup and cannabis hidden in a shipment of tiger nuts to the UK. Follow-up investigations led to his arrest at a warehouse in Lagos.
Additional seizures included 162,800 opioid pills in Kwara State, 755.5 kg of cannabis on a truck in Abuja, 156.95 kg of cannabis from a bus in Taraba, and 141 kg of cannabis in Plateau. In Kano, a Chadian national was arrested with 3,000 tramadol pills, and in Kaduna, 35 sacks of cannabis weighing 338.8 kg were recovered. Edo and Ondo operatives seized a combined 6,721 kg of cannabis in multiple operations.
Community engagement and drug awareness campaigns
Throughout the past week, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with educational outreach to schools, workplaces, religious centers, and communities nationwide. Highlights included sensitization lectures at Park Royal College in Lagos, Government Secondary School in Cross River, and Ladigbolu Grammar School in Oyo. The Edo State command also visited the Oba of Benin, promoting awareness about drug abuse and addiction.
Commending the officers involved, NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised the teams for their dedication to enforcement and public education, reaffirming the agency’s commitment to counter drug abuse and trafficking across Nigeria.
