The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted illicit drugs price over N7.1 billion at two Lagos ports and arrested an 85-year-old woman in Edo State as a part of a nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking.
The growth was disclosed on Sunday, October 18, 2026, in an announcement issued by the company’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
The operations, carried out between October 2 and 17, lined Lagos, Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), ensuing in a number of arrests and the seizure of hundreds of kilogrammes of hashish and huge portions of opioids.
Lagos ports yield N7.1 billion drugs
According to the NDLEA, its operatives uncovered 8,725 kilogrammes of powdered tramadol valued at over N6.98 billion at Apapa Port in Lagos, following a joint examination with the Nigeria Customs Service and different businesses.
The cargo, which originated from India and was falsely declared as maize starch, was initially found on October 2.
The company said:
- “A confirmatory test at the NDLEA forensic laboratory showed the cargo to be tramadol hydrochloride powder. When it was separated from its concealment on Wednesday 14th October, it came to 349 bags with a gross weight of 8,725kg, worth over N6.98 billion.”
In one other operation at Tin Can Island Port on October 12, operatives recovered 55 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud valued at N165 million, hid inside a Toyota Sienna car transported in a 40-foot container.
Elsewhere in Lagos, officers recovered 10,600 ampoules of diazepam injection and 6,500 Molly tablets from a store in Idumota Market, whereas two suspects had been arrested in Mushin with a mixed 121.18 kilogrammes of skunk. Another operation at Iyana Oba uncovered 18,000 tramadol tablets hid in cartons labelled as insecticide.
In Edo State, operatives arrested 85-year-old Grace Ehimeka with 179 kilogrammes of skunk throughout raids throughout Owan East Local Government Area between October 15 and 16. Five different suspects had been arrested with extra portions of hashish and different managed substances.
- The company additionally recorded vital seizures in different states, together with 7,500 kilogrammes of hashish destroyed in Ondo, 894,800 tramadol and Exol-5 capsules intercepted in Bauchi, and 130,100 tablets recovered in Kano.
In Kaduna and Abuja, operatives recovered 496.5 kilogrammes of hashish and 79,000 tramadol tablets and capsules in separate raids.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), recommended the officers concerned and urged continued intelligence-led operations in opposition to drug trafficking networks.
NDLEA information multibillion-naira drug seizures
The newest seizures add to a sequence of multibillion-naira drug interceptions recorded by the NDLEA in 2026, highlighting the size of illicit drug trafficking and enforcement actions throughout Nigeria.
The company has carried out a number of main operations involving narcotics destruction, opioid interceptions and hashish seizures in totally different elements of the nation.
- In August, the company destroyed roughly 329,866 kilogrammes of narcotics valued at N301.06 billion in Lagos, following courtroom orders involving concluded and deserted circumstances. The consignment included drugs seized throughout earlier enforcement operations.
- Later that month, NDLEA operatives intercepted Captagon, generally known as the Jihadi drug, alongside hundreds of thousands of opioid tablets valued at over N6.2 billion at Lagos‘ Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
- The seizures continued into October, when the company intercepted illicit drugs price greater than N5 billion at ports in Lagos and Rivers State, whereas destroying one other 20,234 kilogrammes of hashish cultivated in Osun State.
These operations preceded the most recent interceptions at Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, the place the company recovered drugs valued at over N7.1 billion.
NDLEA uncovers worldwide drug syndicates
Beyond the rising worth of intercepted drugs, current NDLEA investigations have uncovered the involvement of international nationals and worldwide legal networks in Nigeria’s illicit drug manufacturing and trafficking actions.
The company has additionally recorded arrests involving aged suspects, with the most recent case in Edo State following an identical operation in Ogun State.
Earlier that month, the company introduced the arrest of Mexican nationwide Arturo Carrera Loaiza while making an attempt to go away Nigeria by Lagos airport. Investigators linked him to a different clandestine methamphetamine laboratory uncovered in Ebonyi State.
