NDLEA Uncovers Drugs Concealed In Jackets, Carton Walls, Cream At Lagos Airport (Photos)

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have seized large quantities of opioids, cannabis, and methamphetamine at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, as well as at a courier company in Lagos.

The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement issued on Sunday, noting that two suspects bound for Italy were arrested in separate operations.

According to a statement, the drugs were cleverly concealed in everyday items such as body cream containers, winter jackets, and even carton walls.

The statement read, “Two of the consignments heading to Italy were to be moved through the Lagos airport where two suspects linked to the shipments were promptly arrested. One of them, 37-year-old Friday Ehianuka, was going to Rome, Italy, on Friday, 20th March 2026, when he was intercepted while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight with 2,698 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in containers of skin light body cream, all packed in the suspect’s luggage. In his statement, Ehianuka, who is a resident of Milan, confirmed that he was to be paid a negotiated fee in Euros if he had succeeded in trafficking the consignment to Italy.”

The statement further disclosed that NDLEA operatives in another drug bust at the departure hall of the Lagos airport on Wednesday, 18th March, intercepted a passenger, Christian Agbonhese, attempting to board a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Milan, Italy.

During a thorough search of Agbonhese’s luggage, no fewer than 23,150 pills of tramadol 225mg, 4,000 tablets of tapentadol 250mg and 1,320 pills of tramadol 100mg, all concealed in two large winter jackets, bringing the total number of opioids recovered from him to 28,470 pills.

Also, the NDLEA officers on Monday, 16th March, intercepted two parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 1kg, hidden in a carton shipped to Lagos from the United States, and thwarted an attempt to export 158 grams of methamphetamine concealed in the walls of a carton to New Zealand.

In Kano, a 35-year-old suspect, Abdulkadir Mamuda, was arrested with 102.5kg of skunk at Dan-Tsalle, while another suspect, Uche Johnson Festus, 47, was nabbed on the same day at Naibawa Gabas, with 95.5kg of the same psychoactive substance.

The statement further disclosed that the NDLEA operatives raided a storage facility in the Ijora area of Lagos State, recovering over 21,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup, an increasingly abused substance.

Two additional suspects were arrested on the Third Mainland Bridge while transporting thousands more bottles.

In Oyo state, a suspect, Bankole Bari, was arrested on Tuesday, 17th March, at Oke-Oyan, Ibarapa LGA, with 71.2kg of skunk, which he smuggled into Nigeria from the Benin Republic through the Oyan river.

The statement added, “Not less than 586,000 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 were recovered by NDLEA operatives from Lawal Anas, 28, along the Kaduna-Zaria highway, Kaduna, on Tuesday, 17th March, while 7,290 tablets of tramadol 225mg were seized from Musa Shuaibu, 22, at the same location on Friday, 20th March. Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives in Taraba state on Tuesday, 17th March, intercepted a suspect, Aliyu Adamu, 26, along the Takum-Jalingo highway while conveying 77,660 capsules of tramadol to Gombe.

“In Adamawa state, no fewer than six suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure of 82.8kg of tramadol in a truck in Yola on Tuesday, 17th March. Suspects who are joint owners of the consignment include: Ramatu Aliyu; Jungudo Abdullahi; Najid Abdullahi; Musa Mohammed; Usman Abdulrahim and Musa Mohammed. They were all arrested in swift follow-up operations.”