The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has
intercepted consignments of Captagon, popularly known as the “Jihadi drug,” and
millions of opioid tablets valued at more than N6.2 billion in separate
operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The agency also arrested a suspected cross-border drug
kingpin and recovered cocaine, heroin, cannabis and other illicit substances in
operations conducted across several states.
In a statement on Sunday, the NDLEA said its
operatives intercepted 47,200 pills of Captagon at the Lagos airport on
Saturday, August 22, following the arrest of a 49-year-old man who arrived from
Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.
The suspect’s carton of locally made bathing soap,
popularly called “Ghana Soap”, was searched, leading to the discovery of the
Captagon tablets concealed inside blocks of soap. The agency valued the
consignment at more than N1.5 billion.
Captagon is an amphetamine-based stimulant that has
been associated with extremist activities in some conflict zones, earning it
the nickname “Jihadi drug.” The NDLEA said it first intercepted the substance
in Nigeria in September 2021 at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
According to the agency, the suspect told
investigators that he was expected to deliver the consignment to a destination
in northern Nigeria.
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA
officers recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg,
weighing a combined 2,787.40kg and estimated to be worth more than N4.6
billion.
The drugs were discovered in four abandoned
consignments at the MMIA import shed after no individual came forward to claim
them.
Three of the consignments contained 900,000 tablets of
Tramaking weighing 815.40kg and had arrived from Bangladesh aboard RwandAir
flights. The fourth shipment contained 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol weighing
1,972kg and arrived from Amsterdam on a Qatar Airways flight.
The consignments were placed under surveillance before
NDLEA officers, alongside officials of the Nigeria Customs Service and other
stakeholders, conducted a joint examination and formally retrieved the drugs.
Meanwhile, the agency arrested a 31-year-old United
States returnee in the Ikate area of Lekki, Lagos, on August 19. He was
allegedly arrested while attempting to collect 3.350kg of “Loud”, a potent
strain of cannabis reportedly imported from the United Kingdom.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided the Abuja
Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, recovering a fireproof iron safe containing
various illicit substances.
The agency said the safe was opened with a welding
machine on Tuesday, leading to the recovery of 237 grammes of Colorado, 316
grammes of cocaine and 10 grammes of heroin.
In Ondo State, three suspects were arrested along the
Ipele-Idoani Road on Friday after NDLEA officers allegedly discovered 728kg of
skunk concealed in their truck.
Two additional suspects were arrested at Aponmu Forest
on Wednesday with another 341kg of skunk.
In Delta State, the agency said more than 176,000
tablets of assorted opioids, including tramadol and Molly, were seized during
two separate operations carried out between August 26 and 28.
The NDLEA said its enforcement operations were being
complemented by its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in
schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
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