Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested Oguejiofor Nnaemeka, a Nigerian returnee from Thailand, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos for attempting to smuggle in 13.3 kilograms of heroin valued at approximately N3.2 billion.
The NDLEA also intercepted large consignments of opioids at three seaports, with a combined value exceeding N22.7 billion. According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Oguejiofor was apprehended last Monday while trying to exit the airport with the illicit drugs concealed in six backpacks packed into two large suitcases.
The 29-year-old, who graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University in Anambra State, had traveled from Thailand on October 3 and had a two-day stopover in Doha before arriving in Lagos on October 5. He attempted to reroute his luggage, initially meant for Accra, Ghana, back to Nigeria in a bid to evade security checks.
Upon his interception, officers discovered the heroin neatly sewn into the backpacks within his suitcases, weighing a total of 13.30 kg. Oguejiofor later claimed he was promised $7,000 for the delivery of the parcels—two in Lagos and four in Accra.
In a separate operation, NDLEA officials seized 32,607,900 pills of tramadol worth around N12.6 billion and 1,451,994 bottles of codeine-based syrup valued at about N10.2 billion from the Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa Seaport, and Port Harcourt Port Complex. The total value of these seizures amounted to over N22.7 billion.
Additionally, in Anambra State, a suspect named Okelue Chidera was arrested with 50,000 tablets of tramadol, while in Edo State, 70 bags of cannabis weighing 1,050 kilograms were recovered, along with another 110 kilograms seized in a separate raid.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), praised the agency’s efforts and emphasized their commitment to reducing drug supply and demand across the country.