Felix Mbata, Lagos state
In what has become one of its most coordinated weeks of operations this year, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has smashed multiple drug trafficking networks stretching from Lagos to the northern borders, uncovering ingenious concealments and arresting kingpins linked to both local distribution and international export.
Between Sunday 26th July and Thursday 30th July 2026, NDLEA operatives intercepted cocaine bound for China and Italy, seized tons of codeine and skunk, and arrested a notorious dealer in Rivers State and a suspected supplier to bandits in Zamfara. The wave of arrests underscores the Agency’s renewed determination under Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) to cut off drug supply chains at every level.
The drama began in Lagos where officers of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigations, DOGI, stormed a logistics company and uncovered two export consignments. In one carton, 250grams of cocaine had been factory-fitted into the base of a local mortar, prepared for shipment to China. In another, 500grams of the same Class A drug was hidden in the false bottom of a backpack headed for Italy. The discoveries exposed the lengths traffickers now go to in order to beat security checks.
While Lagos was recording export busts, other Commands were tightening the noose on domestic distribution. In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, operatives acting on credible intelligence swooped on Eagle Island and arrested 38-year-old Ugo Gift Okonkwo, described as a notorious dealer. Found in his possession were varied quantities of cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, swinol, tramadol and codeine syrup.
The heat was also felt in the South East. At DMGS Roundabout in Onitsha, Anambra State, NDLEA officers intercepted a truck marked XK 131 BDG loaded with 26,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 3,960kg. The driver, 40-year-old Chinedu Nwanze, was immediately taken into custody.
Further south in Delta, a Toyota Sienna bus with registration KUJ 26 DV was stopped along the Kwale/Ughelli Expressway. A search revealed 331.84 kilograms of skunk cleverly concealed in the vehicle.
The operations extended to the North Central and North West. In Nasarawa, 64-year-old Joseph Nwaeke was arrested at Asso Angwan Muazu in Karu with 68kg of skunk and 29grams of methamphetamine. And in Zamfara, patrol teams along the Zaria-Gusau Highway intercepted 27-year-old Sani Umar conveying 7,400 pills of Tramadol 225mg believed to be supplies for criminal elements and bandits terrorizing the region.
Beyond enforcement, the Agency did not relent in its prevention drive. Across the country, NDLEA Commands took the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA campaign to schools, worship centres and motor parks. Students and staff of Hausawa Special Primary School in Kano, Royal Crown School in Oluyole, Ibadan, and Government Secondary School in Ibi, Taraba were among those sensitized. Drivers at Challenge Bus Terminal Park in Ibadan also received enlightenment lectures on the dangers of drug abuse.
Commending the officers and men involved, NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) praised the balanced approach of going after traffickers while also educating communities. He charged all Commands to sustain the momentum in the fight to rid Nigeria of illicit drugs.
For the NDLEA, the message is clear: whether hidden in a mortar, a backpack, or truckloads of codeine, traffickers will be found and brought to justice. And for communities, the call remains to partner with the Agency to build a drug-free nation.
The Unique Model Magazine commends the bravery of NDLEA operatives and joins the call for collective support in the national war against drug abuse.
Source: Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja. Sunday 2nd August 2026