NIGERIA – Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully dismantled a trans-border drug trafficking syndicate, arresting four key members during a series of intelligence-led operations. The seizures included large quantities of tramadol pills and other illicit substances concealed in Sienna buses traveling towards border towns.
According to a statement released by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, the operation began with the interception of a Sienna bus, marked ABJ 452 HG, on the Nasarawa-Toto road in Keffi, Nasarawa State, on January 27, 2025, at 6 a.m. The vehicle was heading from Onitsha, Anambra State to Yola, Adamawa State. Two suspects, Zahradeen Adamu (27) and Abubakar Usman (44), were arrested in the vehicle after a thorough search revealed specially constructed steel compartments in the back bumper, containing 190,960 tramadol pills.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the supplier, Kingsley Mbaeri, a dealer based in Onitsha, who was apprehended at his residence on January 29. Two vehicles were also seized at Mbaeri’s home.
In another major operation on February 4, 2025, NDLEA operatives intercepted a commercial bus at the Abaji checkpoint, FCT Abuja, coming from Onitsha. A passenger, Chimezie Henry Ojingwa (32), was arrested when authorities discovered 404.47 grams of methamphetamine, 506.49 grams of Loud (a synthetic cannabis strain), and 262.32 grams of dimethyl sulfone—a precursor for methamphetamine mixing—hidden within motor spare parts.
The following week, on February 13, 2025, officers in Cross River State intercepted a truck carrying 170,000 pills of tramadol along the Ogoja-Abakaliki road. On February 11, NDLEA operatives at the Apapa seaport in Lagos seized 85,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup from a container imported from India.
Additional significant arrests include Halilu Isa and Gambo Umaru (Borno State), who were caught with 72kg of skunk, and Paul Chukwudi (Ekiti State), who was found with 83kg of skunk at a notorious drug joint in Ikole-Ekiti.
Other notable arrests include Samiat Olabisi Yussuf (28), arrested in Lagos on February 15, with 169.5 liters of laughing gas (nitrous oxide) and 111 grams of Loud, and Ibrahim Usman (40) and Solomon James (40) in Taraba, who were found with a combined 132.84kg of cannabis.
NDLEA operations continue across the country, and the agency has urged the public to remain vigilant in the fight against drug abuse. As part of the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, NDLEA has also conducted extensive awareness campaigns, including sensitization lectures at schools, workplaces, and religious institutions throughout the past week.
The NDLEA remains committed to its mission to curb drug trafficking and abuse in Nigeria, with plans for further operations in the coming weeks.
