The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully dismantled a major trans-border drug trafficking syndicate, arresting several suspects and seizing millions of naira in illicit drugs.
This was announced in a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.
The operation, which began with weeks of intelligence gathering and surveillance, culminated in the interception of two Sienna buses on Tuesday, January 27th, 2025, at 6 a.m. on the Nasarawa-Toto road in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
The vehicles, on their way to Yola, Adamawa State, from Onitsha, Anambra State, were discovered to be carrying 190,960 tramadol pills hidden in specially designed compartments within their bumpers and spare tyre wells.
Two suspects, Zahradeen Adamu (27) and Abubakar Usman (44), were arrested in connection with the seizure. A second Sienna bus, driven by Abba Usman (48), was intercepted and discovered to have similar hidden compartments.
Further investigation led to the arrest of Kingsley Mbaeri, an Onitsha-based dealer who was identified as the tramadol supplier.
Mbaeri was apprehended on January 29th at his home on Uga Street in Onitsha, where two vehicles, a Toyota Corolla (FGG 948 MF) and a Toyota Sienna (GWA 23 HH), were recovered.
In a separate operation on February 4th, NDLEA agents stopped a commercial bus at an Abaji checkpoint in Abuja’s Federal Capital Territory.
Chimezie Ojingwa (32), a passenger, was discovered to be carrying 404.47 grammes of methamphetamine, 506.49 grammes of Loud (a synthetic cannabis strain), and 262.32 grammes of dimethyl sulfone (a precursor chemical for methamphetamine production) hidden within motor spare parts.
Other major seizures included:
Cross River State: 170,000 tramadol pills were seized from a truck driven by Paul Chukwudi (31) on the Ogoja-Abakaliki road.
At Lagos Apapa Seaport, 85,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup were recovered from a container imported from India.
Borno State: 60 compressed skunk blocks (72 kilogrammes) seized from Halilu Isa and Gambo Umaru in Maiduguri.
Ekiti State: 83 kilogrammes of skunk were discovered during a raid on a drug den in Ikole-Ekiti, resulting in the arrest of three people.
169.5 litres of nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”) and 111 grammes of Loud were seized from Samiat Yussuf (28) in Lekki.
In Taraba State, 132.84 kilogrammes of skunk were seized from Ibrahim Usman (40) and Solomon James (40).
NDLEA Chairman/CEO Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised the agency’s officers’ efforts, highlighting not only the significant drug seizures but also the ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns across the country.
