The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 47,200 pills of Captagon, a synthetic amphetamine often referred to as the ‘Jihadi drug’, alongside more than 3.9 million opioid tablets worth over N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in……
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 47,200 pills of Captagon, a synthetic amphetamine often referred to as the ‘Jihadi drug’, alongside more than 3.9 million opioid tablets worth over N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the seizures were recorded during separate operations at the airport.
Babafemi said the Captagon seizure followed the arrest of 49-year-old suspected cross-border drug trafficker, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, who arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana, aboard an Africa World Airlines flight on August 22.
According to the agency, operatives searched Aikins’ luggage and discovered a carton containing locally produced bathing soap commonly called “Ghana Soap”.
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The search led to the discovery of 47,200 Captagon pills concealed inside the soap blocks, with the consignment estimated to be worth more than N1.5 billion.
“After his arrest, Akinbile claimed he was meant to deliver the consignment in the North.
“Captagon, which is notoriously dubbed the ‘Jihadi drug’ for its use in funding extremist activities in conflict zones,” the statement added.
The latest seizure adds to previous Captagon interceptions by the agency. In September 2021, NDLEA operatives seized 451,807 tablets of the drug weighing 74.119kg at Apapa Port, Lagos. The consignment, hidden inside imported machinery, was valued at about N6 billion by the agency.
Captagon has been linked to illicit drug markets and armed groups in parts of the Middle East.
At the Lagos airport, the NDLEA also recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, weighing a combined 2,787.40kg.
The agency said the opioid consignments, valued at more than N4.6 billion, were recovered from four abandoned shipments at the airport’s import shed.
Three of the consignments contained 900,000 Tramaking tablets weighing 815.4kg and had arrived on RwandAir flights from Bangladesh.
The fourth contained 3,000,030 Tapentadol tablets weighing 1,972kg and arrived on a Qatar Airways flight from Amsterdam.
The consignments were placed under surveillance after no importer appeared to claim them. They were subsequently retrieved and examined jointly by NDLEA operatives, the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders on August 28.
The agency said similar large-scale opioid seizures had recently been recorded at Nigeria’s entry points. In May, it reported the interception of 1,825,710 Tapentadol 250mg tablets worth about N2.19 billion from a consignment that arrived at the Lagos airport from India.
Also in Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, on August 19 at Ikate, Lekki.
Oludotun was arrested while allegedly taking delivery of 3.350kg of Loud, a potent cannabis strain reportedly imported from the United Kingdom.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided a drug den in the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt and recovered a fireproof iron safe.
The agency said officers used a welding machine to open the safe on August 25, discovering 237 grammes of Colorado, 316 grammes of cocaine and 10 grammes of heroin inside.
In Ondo State, three suspects identified as Oyedele Daniel, 42; Taye Saliu, 36; and Kehinde Saliu, 36, were arrested on August 28 along the Ipele-Idoani road.
The suspects were allegedly transporting 728kg of skunk in a truck with registration number KRE 120 XB.
Two other suspects, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were arrested at Aponmu forest on August 26 with another 341kg of skunk.
In Delta State, the agency also recovered more than 176,000 assorted opioid pills, including tramadol and Molly, during separate operations conducted between August 26 and 28.
Beyond enforcement operations, NDLEA commands across the country continued drug-abuse prevention campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative.
The campaigns included sensitisation programmes in schools, worship centres and communities in Gombe, Kano and Edo states.
The Ondo State Command also paid an advocacy visit to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, while the Taraba Command visited Governor Agbu Kefas.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Buba Marwa, commended the officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain both enforcement and prevention efforts.
He further directed personnel to maintain pressure on drug traffickers who continue to devise new methods of concealing illicit substances, including hiding them in ordinary household items.
