The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted consignments of the illicit amphetamine drug, captagon, popularly known as the “Jihadi drug”, and millions of opioid pills worth more than N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The major breakthrough also led to the arrest of a 49-year-old suspected cross-border drug kingpin, Akinbile Kazeem, who allegedly attempted to smuggle 47,200 pills of captagon concealed inside blocks of locally made bathing soap popularly known as “Ghana Soap”.
Confirming the arrest, the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday, disclosed that the suspect was arrested shortly after arriving at the Lagos airport from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.
Babafemi said a search of his carton of soap led to the discovery of the pills, valued at more than N1.5 billion.
The Agency spokesperson said the illicit drugs had been carefully concealed within blocks of the soap in what appeared to be another attempt by drug traffickers to exploit everyday household items to evade security checks.
Captagon, an amphetamine-type stimulant, has gained notoriety in international drug trafficking circles and is sometimes referred to as the “Jihadi drug” because of reports of its links to extremist activities and conflict zones.
According to him, captagon was first intercepted in Nigeria in September 2021 at the Apapa port in Lagos.
Following his arrest, Aikins allegedly told investigators that he was expected to deliver the consignment to a destination in northern Nigeria.
According to the statement, “In a separate operation at the same airport, NDLEA operatives recovered no fewer than 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg with a combined gross weight of 2,787.40 kilograms and an estimated street value of more than N4.6 billion.
“The drugs were recovered from four abandoned consignments at the import shed of the MMIA. Three of the consignments contained 900,000 tablets of Tramaking weighing 815.40kg and arrived from Bangladesh aboard RwandAir flights.
“The fourth consignment, containing 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol weighing 1,972kg, arrived on a Qatar Airways flight from Amsterdam.
“The shipments had reportedly been placed under close surveillance after nobody came forward to claim them.
“They were eventually retrieved following a joint examination by NDLEA officers, the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders on Friday, August 28.
“In another development, a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, was arrested on August 19 by NDLEA operatives in the Ikate area of Lekki, Lagos, while allegedly attempting to take delivery of 3.350 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.
“The Lagos seizures were part of a series of operations recorded by the anti-narcotics agency across the country in the past week.
“In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided the notorious Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, where they recovered a fireproof iron safe suspected to have been used by drug dealers to conceal illicit substances.
“When the safe was forced open with a welding machine on Tuesday, August 25, operatives recovered 237 grams of Colorado, 316 grams of cocaine and 10 grams of heroin.
“In Ondo State, three suspects — Oyedele Daniel, 42; Taye Saliu, 36; and Kehinde Saliu, 36 — were arrested on Friday, August 28, along the Ipele-Idoani Road with 728 kilograms of skunk allegedly recovered from their truck.
“Two other suspects, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were also arrested at Aponmu Forest on Wednesday, August 26, with 341 kilograms of the same substance recovered.
“In Delta State, NDLEA operatives recovered more than 176,000 pills of assorted opioids, including tramadol and molly, during two interdiction operations carried out between August 26 and 28”.
Babafemi disclosed that its commands and formations across the country also continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
Among the activities were enlightenment lectures for students and staff of Markaz Littahfizul Quran Wal Islamiyyat in Dadin Kowa, Gombe State, and Zangina Islamiyyah Alasawa Kurna in Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano State.
Similar sensitisation programmes were held for youths during an adolescent lifestyle programme organised by NNPCL in Benin City, Edo State.
The Ondo State Command of the NDLEA also paid a WADA advocacy visit to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, while the Taraba State Command undertook a similar visit to Governor Agbu Kefas.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers and men of the MMIA, Ondo and Delta Commands for the successful operations.
Marwa urged them and other personnel across the country to sustain the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control through aggressive enforcement and public sensitisation.
He also directed operatives to maintain the momentum against drug traffickers, warning that criminal networks would continue to devise new methods, including concealing narcotics in everyday household items, to move illicit consignments.