The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted over six million pills of opioids with a combined street value of N6.5 billion at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Rivers State and the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
According to a statement released by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media & Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters Abuja, the seizures were made during joint examinations of shipments by NDLEA officers in collaboration with Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
At the Port Harcourt facility, authorities discovered six million pills of opioids and 162,000 bottles of codeine syrup concealed in two containers. Meanwhile, at the Apapa port in Lagos, operatives uncovered 170,000 bottles of codeine syrup in a watch-listed container during a similar joint examination exercise on Thursday, May 22.
British Nationals Arrested in Cannabis Smuggling Attempt
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested two British nationals, Mhizha Jordan Alexander Tatendra and Ayedipe Andrew Adejuwon, along with two Nigerian accomplices, Shonowo Oluwaseun Imole and Ofuoma Omokaro Ayobami, for attempting to smuggle 92 bags of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 51.10kg, through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
Alexander was intercepted upon arrival on a Qatar Airline flight from Doha on Thursday, May 15. NDLEA operatives monitored him as he passed through security control to the car park, where Adejuwon, a Nigerian-British national who had arrived from South Africa via Ghana a day earlier, was waiting in an SUV with the other suspects.
During his confession, Alexander revealed he was recruited during his vacation weeks ago and promised 1,300 British Pounds for successfully delivering the consignment in Lagos. A subsequent search of Adejuwon's Lekki apartment led to the seizure of N3,810,500 in cash, an Apple laptop, an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and four laughing gas (Nitrous Oxide) canisters.
Nationwide Drug Seizures
The agency also reported significant drug seizures across multiple states. In Cross River State, operatives destroyed 75,000 kilograms of skunk on 30 hectares of cannabis farms at Esuk-Odot village in Odukpani LGA, recovering an additional 200kg of the substance.
In Edo State, 1,957.5kg of cannabis was destroyed at Ohosu forest in Ovia South West LGA and Okhuse community forest in Owan West LGA between May 23 and 24.
Other significant seizures included 4,000 kilograms of skunk in Nasarawa State, 57,750 pills of tramadol and diazepam in Kaduna, 45kg of skunk in Bauchi, and various quantities of drugs in Niger, Yobe, and Lagos states.
Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, commended the officers and men involved in these operations for their efforts in balancing drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction initiatives across the country.
