…NDLEA seizes Tramadol in winter jackets bound for Europe, intercepts N1.1bn Opioids in Rivers, 2,687kg Skunk in Cross River
Less than two weeks after a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, was arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport with 65 pellets of cocaine en route to Iran, another major drug trafficking attempt has been foiled, this time at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
A release on Sunday, 15 June 2026, by the Femi Babafemi Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, disclosed that operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency apprehended 44-year-old Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian on Saturday, 7th June, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight (QR1434) to Tehran Khomeini, Islamic Republic of Iran, via Doha.
A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, leading to his placement under excretion watch.
He later excreted 53 wraps of cocaine in six separate bouts, totaling 1.172kg.
During interrogation, Ezemokwe confessed to being in the drug trafficking business for the past two years, frequently moving between West Africa and Iran.
In a related operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA officers, in collaboration with Aviation Security of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), intercepted a passenger bound for Italy, Edobor Ambrose Ali, in the early hours of Saturday, 14th June.
Drug packages were discovered concealed inside winter jackets in his luggage during baggage screening on the tarmac.
The search uncovered 14,410 pills of tramadol (225mg and 200mg).
Edobor admitted he was contracted in Italy to deliver the drugs to Milan for a fee of €2,000.
Also on Friday, 13th June, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports (PHPC), Onne, Rivers State, intercepted a container shipment holding 157,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup, with an estimated street value of over ₦1.1 billion.
The drugs were concealed behind 257 cartons of ceramic sanitary wares. The interception was carried out during a joint operation with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
Meanwhile, in Cross River State, a warehouse in Obereakai, Odukpani LGA, was raided on Thursday, 12th June. Three suspectsz Friday Achibong Joseph (47), Abraham Anthony Willy (21), and Utibe David Okon (24), were arrested, and a staggering 2,687kg of skunk was recovered.
That same day in Bauchi State, NDLEA officers acting on intelligence arrested two suspects, Iriemi Imonikhe (49) and Sa’idu Ladan (30), on the Bauchi–Jos Road. A total of 195 blocks of skunk, weighing 287kg, were found in their Toyota Camry marked AKL 201 GG.
Elsewhere in Lagos, 14 jumbo sacks of skunk weighing 560kg were seized by NDLEA Marine Command operatives from a wooden boat at Oniru Beach, also on Thursday, 12th June.
In Maiduguri, two businessmen, Ishaku Abdullahi (30) and Buba Usman (32), were arrested at the arrival hall of the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport with quantities of ecstasy pills and skunk disguised in fanciful packaging labelled “Lychee” and “Porro Legal.”
In line with its mandate, the NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy across the country during the week.
Sensitization lectures were delivered in various schools including Command Secondary School, Orba, Enugu; Divine Gift International School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; Baptist Primary School, Ago-Are, Oyo; and St. Vincent Secondary School, Oti-Oron Okobo, Akwa Ibom State.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers and men of the various commands, MMIA, PHIA, MBIAM, PHPC, Marine, Cross River, and Bauchi, for their dedication and outstanding seizures.
He applauded their efforts in striking a balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction across the country.
