Over 1.6 million pills of Tramadol 250 milligrams concealed in specially fabricated compartments beneath the cargo floors of two long-haul trailers heading to Kano have been recovered by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), exposing a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating through the Togo–Benin Republic–Nigeria corridor.
According to the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the operation followed the interception of 558,900 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in the false-bottom compartment of another trailer that entered Lagos through the same Togo–Benin Republic route barely a week earlier.
Investigations revealed that all three trailers and their consignments belonged to the same cross-border drug trafficking syndicate.
Acting on intelligence, NDLEA operatives tracked the first of the two trailers to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on 2 July 2026, where they recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg hidden inside a specially fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor. The 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru, was arrested at the scene.
Two days later, on 4 July 2026, NDLEA officers again tracked and intercepted a second trailer along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while it was also heading to Kano. A further 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed beneath the cargo floor were recovered, while the 22-year-old driver, Muhammed Nuhu, was arrested.
NDLEA, investigations established that the trailers intercepted on 21st June, 2nd and 4th July were all operated by the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate using modified trucks with hidden compartments to move large consignments of tramadol across multiple international borders into Nigeria.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing a combined 4.70 kilograms. The consignments arrived from Canada aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on 24 June and 3 July 2026, concealed inside cartons boldly labelled “Odugwu.”
Investigations led to the initial arrest of two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga. A third suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, was arrested after arriving at a logistics company to take delivery of the consignments.
Further investigations identified 44-year-old businesswoman Chioma Nneka Mokeme as the owner of the drugs. She was arrested on 7 July 2026 in collaboration with the Area C Command of the Nigeria Police, Surulere, Lagos. Chioma, who claimed to be in the printing business, told investigators that a friend, Agbons Collins, based in Canada, introduced her to the drug trade.
Meanwhile, in Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested an 80-year-old man, Chika Ugwoji, for alleged drug trafficking. The octogenarian was arrested at Ahoada on Tuesday, 14 July 2026, and was found in possession of 800 grams of skunk.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives arrested a couple, Christian Chukwuka, 32, and Nwanneka Christian, 33, during a raid on their suspected drug warehouse along Sapele Road, Benin City, on Monday, 13 July 2026. The operation led to the seizure of 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5 kilograms and compressed blocks of Canadian Loud weighing 192.67 kilograms.
In a related operation, NDLEA traced a consignment of 50,000 pills of tramadol 225mg intercepted in Kogi State on Sunday, 12 July 2026, to 38-year-old Chadian Nationale, Hajara Abdullahi and her 44-year-old Nigerian accomplice, Abdulkarim Jidda. Both suspects were subsequently tracked to Apapa, Lagos, where they were arrested.
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Editor: Nkoli Omhoudu
