Agency dismantles Togo-Benin-Nigeria drug syndicate, recovers Canadian Loud at Lagos airport
By Felix Mbata, Lagos state
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has dealt another major blow to drug traffickers, intercepting over 1.6 million pills of tramadol smuggled in 2 trucks, arresting an 80-year-old grandpa in Rivers, a businesswoman in Lagos, a Chadian woman, a couple in Edo, and others in a week-long nationwide operation.
In an intelligence-led operation targeting a transnational syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria axis, NDLEA tracked and intercepted two long trailers heading to Kano.
On 2nd July 2026, operatives stopped one truck along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg hidden in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor. The driver, 22-year-old Jabir Kabiru, was arrested.
Two days later on 4th July, the second trailer was also tracked on the same expressway. NDLEA recovered 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg and arrested driver Muhammed Nuhu, 22.
This brings to 1,630,000 pills recovered from the 2 trucks. It comes barely a week after NDLEA also seized 558,900 pills from another truck on the same Togo-Benin route on 21st June. Investigations confirmed all 3 trucks belong to the same syndicate.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA also intercepted 4.70kg of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, concealed in cartons boldly marked ‘Odugwu’. The shipments came from Canada aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines on 24th June and 3rd July.
Two cargo agents — Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga — were first arrested. Another suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, who came to take delivery was also nabbed. The actual owner, 44-year-old businesswoman Chioma Nneka Mokeme, was eventually arrested on 7th July in Surulere with help from Area C Police Command. Chioma, who claimed to be into printing, said a Canada-based friend, Agbons Collins, introduced her to the trade.
In other interdiction operations:
- Rivers State: An 80-year-old grandpa, Chika Ugwoji, was arrested at Ahoada on 14th July with 800 grams of skunk.
- Edo State: A couple, Christian Chukwuka, 32, and Nwanneka Christian, 33, were arrested on 13th July at their warehouse on Sapele Road, Benin City. NDLEA seized 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5kg and 192.67kg of compressed Canadian Loud.
- Kogi/Lagos: A Chadian woman, Hajara Abdullahi, 38, and her Nigerian accomplice Abdulkarim Jidda, 44, were arrested in Apapa, Lagos. This followed the seizure of 50,000 pills of tramadol 225mg in Kogi on 12th July. The consignment was traced back to them.
- Meanwhile, NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, campaign continued with sensitization lectures in schools across Katsina, Enugu, Lagos, Rivers, Ekiti, and Kano.
REACTION
Commending the officers, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), said the arrests and seizures show the Agency’s commitment to dismantling drug networks across Nigeria.
He charged operatives to “remain vigilant at all times” as the war against drugs intensifies.
Conclusively, from Kano-bound trailers to airport cargo, from an octogenarian dealer to a businesswoman and a Chadian accomplice, this week’s operations show one thing: NDLEA is tightening the noose everywhere.
The message to traffickers is clear — whether you are 22 or 80, local or foreign, NDLEA will track you, intercept you, and take you out of the business.
Source: Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja. Sunday 19th July 2026